Islamabad denies increasing aid to Taliban

The government of Pakistan on Tuesday denied US allegations, contained in a State Department report on Monday, that it was backing the Taliban Islamic Movement of Afghanistan with increased military assistance. “This is a totally incorrect conclusion,” Major General Rashid Qureshi, spokesman for Pakistani Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf, told IRIN. “I truly question the information and reasoning behind this. There seems to be a concerted effort by many western countries to isolate Afghanistan further.” Qureshi’s comments followed Monday’s publication by the US State Department of a report entitled ‘Patterns of Global Terrorism’, which said Pakistan had increased its military support to the Taliban, in addition to Kashmiri militant groups active in Indian-occupied Kashmir. There had been a shift last year from the Middle East to South Asia as the focus of terrorism activities directed against the US, the report added. The US expressed concern about reports of continued Pakistani support for the Taliban’s military operations in Afghanistan. “Credible reports indicate that Pakistan is providing the Taliban with material, fuel, funding, technical assistance and military advisors,” it said. “Pakistan has not prevented large numbers of Pakistani nationals from moving into Afghanistan to fight for the Taliban. Islamabad also failed to take effective steps to curb activities of certain madrassahs [Islamic schools] that serve as recruiting grounds for terrorism,” it added. According to the US report, the Taliban continues to provide safe haven for international terrorists, particularly Usama bin Ladin, wanted in connection with the bombings of two American embassies in East Africa in August 1998. Bin Ladin’s Al’ Qaidah organisation was also named in the section on the Middle East and in connection with the attack on the USS Cole last October in Yemen. The report pointed out that Pakistan has publicly and privately said it intended to comply with UN Security Council Resolution 1333 of 19 January, which imposed an arms embargo on the Taliban. “Pakistan does not have the capability to provide so much equipment,” Qureshi told IRIN. He said the bulk of equipment being used in the conflict was clearly Russian- a legacy of years of fighting by Afghan mujahidin militias against the former Soviet Union. Qureshi said, however, that there were concerted efforts by western nations to support the anti-Taliban United Front (also known as the Northern Alliance), an act he described as “counter-productive.” Calling for a broad-based government, he said no-one knew Afghanistan better than Pakistan, and “if there is peace in Afghanistan, no country will benefit more.” “Pakistan firmly believes in peace in Afghanistan and engagement within Afghanistan, controlled mostly by the Taliban, as the best way to bring about that change,” Qureshi said. “Isolationism and sanctions are counter-productive and will achieve nothing in this human catastrophe,” he added.