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Afghanistan accusing Pakistan of aiding insurgents
 Afghanistan's spy agency alleged on Wednesday that a member of Pakistan's consulate in the country's south helped a Taliban commander in his attempts to weaken the government. The allegation will likely further strain the acrimonious relations between the two key U.S. allies in the region.Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security said in a statement that a diplomat at the consulate in the southern Kandahar province gave "orders and money" to Mullah Rahmatullah, a Taliban militant in the region. Rahmatullah was captured by Afghan intelligence agents on Tuesday in Kandahar city, and the information linking the official with the militants was gleaned during the questioning, the NDS said in a statement, which did not name the diplomat. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammed Sadiq declined to comment, saying he had not seen the report. Rahmatullah was responsible for kidnappings of influential elders in the province, extortion, "guerrilla attacks and some other terroristic activities," the statement said. "Mullah Rahmatullah tried to show that the (Afghan) Government is weak in Kandahar," the statement said. "After the arrest, Mullah Rahmatullah confessed to his crimes and said he received orders and money for all terroristic activities and for the kidnappings from one of the members of Pakistan's consulate in Kandahar," the statement said. Afghanistan has long accused the Pakistan spy agency of backing the Taliban-led insurgency. It also has complained repeatedly that Pakistan-based militants are crossing the border to launch terrorist attacks in Afghanistan. Afghanistan -- and, reportedly, the United States -- believe Pakistan's powerful spy service, the Inter-Services Intelligence, orchestrated the July 7 bombing outside India's Embassy in Kabul that killed over 60 people, in an effort to undermine growing ties between the two countries. Pakistan, which is suspicious of India's growing role in Afghanistan, denied the accusations. Posted by: john frum 2008-08-06 |
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