By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : Some members of Pakistan’s spy service ISI may be encouraging the Taliban to continue fighting US and coalition forces in Afghanistan, US officials say, but insist the agency’s leadership is not behind the effort.
“The ISI as an organisation does not support terrorism, but whether there are elements within the ISI that are doing things that are not productive, that’s what we are discussing,” Pentagon spokesman Col. Dave Lapan told reporters Thursday.
Reacting to a Wall Street Journal report that officers from Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency are pushing Taliban field commanders to fight against the US and other NATO troops in Afghanistan, he said the US has been talking with the Pakistani Army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani about the problem.
“The ISI has done a great deal in fighting terrorism,” he said, but added that US officials “also have some concerns with the strategic focus of the ISI”.
“Gen Kayani is aware and shares that, and they are working toward making changes. But change happens slowly, over time,” Lapan said.
The Defence Department spokesman stressed that the US is not blaming official leaders of the Pakistani spy agency, but the Pentagon’s concern is that “elements of the ISI might be interacting with terrorist organisations in ways that aren’t consistent with what the government and the military are doing.”
CNN cited another unnamed official as saying there is no indication the leadership of the ISI is trying to direct the Taliban. The official said Pakistan has a patchwork of security agencies, some of which have had ties to extremist groups.
Although it’s possible there are some elements within the ISI that are encouraging the Taliban — “this is Pakistan, you can’t rule out anything” — the official said there is no centrally directed effort by the ISI.
The official added: “We keep our eyes wide open here, because historical relations are hard to break for some people.”
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the situation with Pakistan is “very difficult and complicated”.
Pakistani leaders will be in Washington later this month for discussions focusing on “fighting insurgents and extremists that we know threatened Pakistan, threatened the stability of Afghanistan, and ultimately threatened the security of our homeland,” he said.
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at [email protected])