Pakistani army helps Taliban escape

The Times of India ^ | MONDAY, MARCH 01, 2004 12:04:42 PM | Press Trust of India

[VinayFromBangalore]

NEW YORK: Pakistan army still appears to be helping Taliban in Afghanistan as they prepare for a major confrontation in coming spring, a media report said.

Pak army still appears to be helping Taliban

American intelligence officials possess satellite photos that "purportedly" show Pakistani army trucks picking up Taliban troops fleeing back across the border after a failed attack.

After the US confronted Pakistani officials with the photographs, signs of visible Pakistani aid to the rebels ceased, Time magazine said.

It quoted US and Afghan officials as saying that the US has also provided Islamabad with specific locations of two dozen suspected Taliban hideouts in the tribal badlands.

Afghan security officials, Time said, complain that their Pakistani counterparts continue to tolerate -- and even encourage -- militancy by the Taliban.

At the highest levels, Pakistan's establishment remains "nostalgic" for the Taliban, says a Western diplomat. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has cooperated in the hunt for al-Qaeda's top officials but has shown less enthusiasm for rooting out the Taliban.

Until Pakistan's security services stop sheltering Taliban leaders, US officials say, Afghanistan will never be free from the threat of their return.

[Elkiejg]

It quoted US and Afghan officials as saying that the US has also provided Islamabad with specific locations of two dozen suspected Taliban hideouts in the tribal badlands.

Simply solution --- use the MOAB's on these locations. Rest assured, the Pakistani support would stop D*MN quick.

[Elkiejg]

Simply -- simple..............need more coffee!!

[Texasforever]

You have to admit that India is not an unbiased source when reporting on Pakistan. Having said that, it wouldn't surprise me if there were some collusion on the part of the Pak intelligence agencies.

[Khan Noonian Singh]

FYI.

Yes, this is from the Indian press, but if it is true, the Pakis are up to their old double-dealing tricks, trying to play both sides at the same time.

Somebody is going to get bitten playing this game.

[Cap Huff]

I'm going to try not to be naive about what this story is all about. India has their own vital interests in the area, and an Indian news source can be expected to have a particular agenda that is reflected in the news that they publish. Who can doubt that India has an advantage in pushing a story like this?

At the same time, there is no doubt that sympathies run high for the Taliban [and let us not forget, al-Qaeda] in significant factions of Pakistan. Who can doubt that some Pakistanis in the area are helping Talibanis?

[Khan Noonian Singh]

Agreed. The Indian press must be taken with a pinch of salt when they write about Pakistan.

They may have some insights, though, and they will hurriedly and gleefully be the first to finger the Pakistanis when the Pakis are knaves.

The difference between the Paki attitude toward al-Qaida and the Paki attitude toward the Taliban may have some truth underneath it.

[Cap Huff]

The difference between the Paki attitude toward al-Qaida and the Paki attitude toward the Taliban may have some truth underneath it.

I think one of the toughest things for any of use to wrap our minds around in the WOT is the nature of the enemy. The ultra extreme paradigms are 1) Islam, period - the "bomb them all and let God sort them out" crowd, and 2) those that think OBL equals al-Qaeda which equals the enemy - the crowd that thinks as soon as OBL is taken out or "arrested" we can all go back to watching football or Oprah Winfrey for thrills.

In reality the situation is far different. I should hope that we all develop a better understanding of who the enemy is and how to combat each particular element of it. For example, I don't think one in a hundred normal adults have a fair idea of just what al-Qaeda is, nor do they have any concept that "the enemy" is far more that simply al-Qaeda. It should not surprise us that some within Pakistan have a different view of the Taliban than they do of al-Qaeda. I don't think they've made the right choices, but it is not surprising.

[Khan Noonian Singh]

I concur with your assessment.

Everything tells me that al-Qaida is not the tightknit terrorist organization frequently portrayed.

Putting it in in normal business terminology removes some of its mystique: Al-Qaida is an employment agency, putting willing jihadists in touch with employers who are hiring; and it is a well-endowed foundation, funding proposals from other groups that contribute in a general way to the fulfillment of its Islamist mission statement.

Some influential Pakistanis have had their arms twisted and so have agreed to crack down on al-Qaida, whatever that may mean. One cannot expect that the Pakis have backed off from their fundamentalist Islamic beliefs, nor that they would have withdrawn support for the Taliban that they created and that is a primary instrument of their cultural and political policies.

[swarthyguy]

Yes, the sympathies of various components of the Pakistani Army and Rangers are a variable. How much of the Pak army is pure jihadi?

And I notice this report quotes Time magazine on the US discovering even further treachery on part of the Pakistanis as the basis for its story.