Taliban backed by Pakistan, leaked Nato report confirms

DESPITE ten years of warfare by Britain and its allies designed to destroy the Taliban in Afghanistan, the Islamist network is not just alive and well thanks to backing from Pakistan – it appears destined to retake control. That is the conclusion of a classified Nato report leaked to the BBC and The Times.

Compiled by US forces at Bagram air base, State of the Taliban is based on 27,000 interrogations of more than 4,000 Taliban and al-Qaeda detainees. It was released to Nato commanders last month.

Its sudden airing by two major news organisations suggests it was leaked by those within Nato who want allied troops out of Afghanistan sooner rather than later.

The only good news offered by the report is that al-Qaeda's power is diminishing. The rest is bad news – especially for western military and political leaders who have sought to portray the Taliban as a busted flush.

What makes the most painful reading - as the BBC puts it - for international forces and the Afghan government is the overwhelming evidence that the Taliban are actively supported by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency.

Supporting the long-held views of commentators such as The Week's Robert Fox, the report states: "The Government of Pakistan remains intimately involved with the Taliban... Senior Taliban leaders meet regularly with ISI personnel, who advise on strategy and relay any pertinent concerns of the Government of Pakistan."

Among the claims made by the State of the Taliban report are these:

• Pakistan is well aware of the locations of senior Taliban leaders. "Senior Taliban representatives, such as Nasiruddin Haqqani, maintain residences in the immediate vicinity of ISI headquarters in Islamabad."

• One detainee said: "ISI officers tout the need for continued jihad (holy war) and expulsion of foreign invaders from Afghanistan."

• The ISI remains "fundamentally opposed" to Karzai's government because of its perceived support for Pakistan's arch-enemy, India.

• The ISI sponsors Punjabi militant groups based in North Waziristan and Baluchistan, close to the border with Afghanistan. These groups provide the Taliban with "electronics expertise, remote detonators, advanced explosives, mines and suicide vests".

• Though the Taliban suffered severely at the hands of British and allied forces in 2011, "its strength, motivation, funding and tactical proficiency remains intact." As a result, "many Afghans are already bracing themselves for an eventual return of the Taliban."

Nato has refused to comment on the contents of the leaked report. "It is a matter of policy that documents that are classified are not discussed under any circumstances," said a spokesman.

Aleem Maqbool, a BBC correspondent in Islamabad, comments: "In effect, the accusation is that Pakistan is betting on the insurgents being the strongest power in Afghanistan and most likely ally once Nato leaves - something Islamabad of course strenuously denies." ·