New findings reported from NATO's classified information indicate that Taliban receive direct support from intelligence services in Pakistan. The document, which was reported on Wednesday, February 01, 2012 by Britain's Times newspaper and the BBC, said to have been produced based on the outcomes of interrogating thousands of Taliban militants, Al-Qaeda and other insurgent members detained by NATO forces.
The report also suggests that the support for Taliban has been increasing. In the meanwhile, the report says that Taliban militants are poised to retake power after the withdrawal of international forces in 2014. The news came out on the day when Pakistani foreign minister, Hina Rabbani Khar, paid a visit to Kabul with the aim to discuss and strengthen the bilateral relations with Afghan officials.
Lieutenant Colonel Jimmie Cummings, a spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, has confirmed the existence of the document. He has however rejected it to be a strategic study, saying, "The classified document in question is a compilation of Taliban detainee opinions.It's not an analysis, nor is it meant to be considered an analysis."
On the other hand, Hina Rabbani Khar, in an inclusive question and answer session with the editorial board of Afghanistan Group of Newspapers,called it as "irrelevant." She said that the narrative being built by the media and press is misleading and leads to the suffering of people in the two neighboring countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The visiting foreign minister was asked that: based on NATO's classified information leaked to news agencies, there has been an increasing support by Pakistani intelligence services for the Taliban. Is there any link between this growing support for Taliban and any preparation made by Pakistan government and intelligence for post-2014 Afghanistan when the full transition of power to Afghan security forces completes and international community withdraws from the country? Ms. Rabbani said that peace and prosperity in the two countries are interlinked and any destructive role by Pakistan in Afghanistan would mean injustice to the Pakistani people for the very reason that the two neighbors have no choice but to work together to ensure security and stability.
Answering a question regarding Pakistan's stance on Qatar or Riaz (Saudi Arabia) peace talks with Taliban and Where Pakistan can help the process effectively, Qatar or Riaz? Ms. Rabbani said that Pakistan, as a neighbor, will support any process aimed at bringing peace and stability to Afghanistan. We have no option except supporting such a process. This is Afghanistan to tell us in what role we can back peace and stability of Afghanistan. So, it really does not matter to us whether the peace negotiations with Taliban takes place in Qatar or Riaz. Pakistan will always be there to support Afghanistan.
Earlier in her meeting with president Karzai, she reiterated Pakistan's strong backing for the reconciliation process under the leadership of Afghan government. It should be mentioned that the ongoing complicated situation requires a comprehensive settlement. Taliban cannot return with the aim to retake the country. They must break links with Al-Qaeda and other fundamentalists in the region in order to be reintegrated into the fold. The neighboring countries and international community must avoid trying any solution that would be met with the resistance by Afghan people.