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Pakistan Agents Have Aided Taliban Fighters, Think Tank Says

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The Associated Press

Published: June 10, 2008

KABUL, Afghanistan - Pakistani intelligence agents and paramilitary forces have helped train Taliban insurgents and have given them information about U.S. troop movements in Afghanistan, said a report published Monday by a U.S. think tank.

The study by the Rand Corp. also warned that the United States will face "crippling, long-term consequences" in Afghanistan if Taliban sanctuaries in Pakistan are not eliminated.

It echoes recent statements by U.S. generals, who have increased their warnings that militant safe havens in Pakistan are threatening efforts in Afghanistan. The study was funded by the U.S. Defense Department.

"Every successful insurgency in Afghanistan since 1979 enjoyed safe haven in neighboring countries, and the current insurgency is no different," said the report's author, Seth Jones. "Right now, the Taliban and other groups are getting help from individuals within Pakistan's government, and until that ends, the region's long-term security is in jeopardy."

A Pakistan military spokesman rejected the findings.

The study, "Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan," found some active and former officials in Pakistan's intelligence service and the Frontier Corps, a Pakistani paramilitary force deployed along the Afghan border, provided direct assistance to Taliban militants and helped secure medical care for wounded fighters.

It said NATO officials have uncovered several instances of Pakistani intelligence agents providing information to Taliban fighters, even "tipping off Taliban forces about the location and movement of Afghan and coalition forces, which undermined several U.S. and NATO anti-Taliban military operations."

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has pleaded with the world community to address the issue of militant sanctuaries in Pakistan.

Pakistan, which supported the Taliban regime before the Sept. 11 attacks, denied it is supporting the insurgents but acknowledged the problem of militant infiltration.

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