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'US faces severe consequences if Taliban havens not eliminated'
The United States and its NATO allies will face crippling, long-term consequences in their efforts to stabilise Afghanistan if Taliban sanctuaries in neighbouring Pakistan are not eliminated, a report published on Monday said.Funded by the Defence Department, The study, Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan, has claimed that NATO officials have uncovered several instances of Pakistani intelligence agents providing information to Taliban fighters, including information on the location and movement of Afghan and coalition forces. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has also pleaded with the global community to address the issue of militant sanctuaries in Pakistan. Afghan intelligence officials say young, uneducated males are recruited in the Tribal Areas to become suicide bombers and fighters. However, Pakistan denies that it supports the insurgents. Whenever these kinds of places [of infiltration] are identified or pointed out, action is taken against these places, said military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas. Therefore, we reject this claim of sanctuaries being aided by Pakistans army or intelligence agencies. Adviser to Prime Minister on Interior Rehman Malik said on Monday that he had met Karzai in Kabul over the weekend and they had agreed to install biometric screening at border checkpoints. These would begin operating within two weeks, he told reporters. The study, by the Rand Corporation, also claimed that along with the Taliban, other major militant groups, such as Al Qaeda and the Hizb-e-Islami group, also find sanctuary in Pakistan. The report also claimed that Afghanistans police are incompetent and almost uniformly corrupt, echoing frequent criticism of the police by international officials in Afghanistan. Posted by: Fred 2008-06-10 |
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