Pak dismisses reports of ISI supporting Taliban campaign

Pakistan on Thursday dismissed a media report that the Taliban's campaign in Afghanistan is aided partly by support from the Inter-Services Intelligence agency.

Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said the report by the New York Times "missed the essential fact of robust cooperation and engagement between Pakistan, Afghanistan, the US and other countries in counter-terrorism efforts".
    
The New York Times had yesterday reported that the Taliban's campaign in southern Afghanistan is aided by ISI operatives. Citing US government officials, the newspaper said the support for Taliban and other militant groups was coordinated by operatives in the "S Wing" of the ISI.

The support involves money, military supplies and strategic planning guidance, said the officials.
    
The Times said there was even evidence that ISI operatives were regularly meeting Taliban commanders for discussions on whether the group should intensify or reduce violence before Afghanistan's elections scheduled for August.
    
US officials said proof of the ties came from electronic surveillance and trusted informants. Pakistani officials told the newspaper they had first-hand knowledge of the ties, which they denied were strengthening the insurgency.

Basit told a weekly news briefing that Pakistan and Afghanistan are close neighbours with a multi-tiered engagement, including in counter-terrorism efforts. "Pakistan wishes to see a peaceful, secure, sovereign and united Afghanistan that is an anchor of peace in the region," he said.
    
However, senior Afghan officials have often linked the ISI to several terrorist strikes in that country, including a suicide car bomb attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul last year.