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| Afghanistan | ||
| Pakistan 'does not want Taliban to seize control of Afghanistan' | ||
| 2012-03-21 | ||
Pakistan does not want the Taliban to seize control of Afghanistan when international forces pull out, according to a leaked account of a meeting with the recently retired head of its intelligence service.
However, this year its civilian government has taken pains to insist that any political settlement must be part of an Afghan-led process. Now, details of an interview with Lieutenant-General Ahmad Shuja Pasha, who stepped down as ISI director general last weekend, give an insight into the agency's secretive world and its position on Afghanistan. The account of the meeting in April last year -- written by a researcher with the private intelligence firm Stratfor and obtained by WikiLeaks -- suggests the ISI fears that a Taliban takeover would have dangerous implications for Pakistan's security. "We do not wish to see the Talibs dominate Afghanistan," he said. "On the contrary, we want to see a broad-based government that can end the civil war in that country, which has had a disastrous fallout for us. Of course the Talibs will be a key player in a post-Nato Afghanistan, which we feel is necessary for true peace to take place."
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| Posted by:tipper |
| #5 Afghanistan as well as the NWFP will need periodically done kinetic cleaning to keep the areas reasonably free of terrorist bases. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2012-03-21 17:11 |
| #4 The key issue for us is to deny Afghanistan as a base for terrorist operations against the US (and others). I agree, but I haven't come across anything likely to succeed. Isolating Afghanistan might be effective, but very hard to accomplish, with Pakistan, Iran, China & former Russian provinces surrounding that country. The imperial method, e.g. saturating Afghanistan with occupying forces & re-forming the society over a couple of generations, is a pipe dream, and insupportable. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2012-03-21 15:33 |
| #3 So, the ISI, which has done everything but cook them breakfast in bed and tuck them in at night, has decided they don't want the Taliban to run the show in Afghanistan? I am beginning to think the ISI is as fractured into warring factions as Afghanistan. The right hand wants to kill the left hand and neither knows what the other is doing. Obviously, ISI is dysfunctional and their logic is unworkable. Who in their right mind would think India wants anything to do with a place with scenic beauties named "Hindu Cush"? I think ISI needs some meds, their paranoia is out of control |
| Posted by: Bill Clinton 2012-03-21 14:01 |
| #2 So to fight the Taliban the US would be much more effective if it used the MOAB on ISI HQ? |
| Posted by: Water Modem 2012-03-21 13:50 |
| #1 So basically the ISI wants the Taliban in place, like before. They just would like to end the war. The key issue for us is to deny Afghanistan as a base for terrorist operations against the US (and others). |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2012-03-21 13:46 |