Pakistani Role Seen in Taliban Surge at Border - By CARLOTTA GALL at NYTimes

[applegrove]

January 21, 2007
Pakistani Role Seen in Taliban Surge at Border
By CARLOTTA GALL
The New York Times
QUETTA, Pakistan — "The most explosive question about the Taliban resurgence here along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan is this: Have Pakistani intelligence agencies been promoting the Islamic insurgency?

The government of Pakistan vehemently rejects the allegation and insists that it is fully committed to help American and NATO forces prevail against the Taliban militants who were driven from power in Afghanistan in 2001.

Western diplomats in both countries and Pakistani opposition figures say that Pakistani intelligence agencies — in particular the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence and Military Intelligence — have been supporting a Taliban restoration, motivated not only by Islamic fervor but also by a longstanding view that the jihadist movement allows them to assert greater influence on Pakistan’s vulnerable western flank.

More than two weeks of reporting along this frontier, including dozens of interviews with residents on each side of the porous border, leaves little doubt that Quetta is an important base for the Taliban, and found many signs that Pakistani authorities are encouraging the insurgents, if not sponsoring them.

...........SNIP"

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/21/world/asia/21quetta.html?_r=1&th=&oref=slogin&emc=th&pagewanted=print