2010/06/16

BBC Report says Pakistani agents are Funding AND Training the Afghan Taliban

Yes! According to the British Broadcasting Corporation, Pakistani intelligence gives funding, training, and sanctuary to the Afghan Taliban on a scale much larger than previously thought. In fact, this support was "official ISI policy, insiders with the London School of Economics suggest.
Links between the Taliban and Pakistan's service have long been suspected, but the report's author - Harvard analyst Matt Waldman - says there is real evidence of EXTENSIVE co-operation between the two: "This goes far beyond just limited, or occasional support" he said: "This is a very significant level of support being provided by the ISI." Mr. Waldman spoke to nine Taliban field commanders in Afghanistan earlier this year. Some alleged that ISI agents had even attended meetings of the Taliban's top leadership council, the so-called Quetta shura. With US troops due to begin leaving next year, Pakistan and other regional "players" are increasingly seeking ways to assert their influence in Afghanistan, analysts say. The BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Kabul says there is a growing understanding that military action alone will not be enough to bring peace in Afghanistan.

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