Members of Pakistan's spy agency are pressing Taliban field commanders to fight the U.S. and its allies in Afghanistan, some U.S. officials and Afghan militants say, a development that undercuts a key element of the Pentagon's strategy for ending the war.
The explosive accusation is the strongest yet in a series of U.S. criticisms of Pakistan, and shows a deteriorating relationship with an essential ally in the Afghan campaign. The U.S. has provided billions of dollars in military and development aid to Pakistan for its support.
The U.S. and Afghanistan have sought to persuade midlevel Taliban commanders to lay down their weapons in exchange for jobs or cash. The most recent Afghan effort at starting a peace process took place this week in Kabul.
But few Taliban have given up the fight, officials say. Some Taliban commanders and U.S. officials say militant leaders are being pressured by officers from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency not to surrender.
"The ISI wants to arrest commanders who are not obeying [ISI] orders," said a Taliban commander in Kunar province.
U.S. officials say they have heard similar reports from captured militants and those negotiating to lay down their arms.
A senior Pakistani official dismissed the allegation, insisting Islamabad is fighting militants, not aiding them.
Whenever anything goes wrong in Afghanistan, ISI is to be blamed," said the senior Pakistani official. "Honestly, they see ISI agents behind every bush in Afghanistan."
The explosive accusations of ISI efforts to keep Taliban commanders on the battlefield are the strongest yet in a series of U.S. criticisms of Pakistan, and show a deteriorating relationship with an essential ally. The U.S. has provided billions of dollars in military and development aid to Pakistan in return for its support for the Afghan war and its own fight against extremists; the reports suggest some Pakistani officials are undermining that strategy.
The Taliban commander in Kunar, like others interviewed in recent days, said he remained opposed to the presence of foreign troops in Afghanistan and had no plans to stop fighting them. But "the ISI wants us to kill everyonepolicemen, soldiers, engineers, teachers, civiliansjust to intimidate people," the commander said.
He said he refused, and that the ISI had tried to arrest him. "Afghans are all brothers; tomorrow we could be sitting together in one room."
The allegations of interference by the Pakistani spy agency come amid a new U.S. strategic focus on Pakistan as key territory in the Afghan war.
Gen. David Petraeus, who took over in July as the top coalition commander in Afghanistan, has come to see militant havens in Pakistan, from which the Afghan Taliban and Haqqani network of radicals stage attacks in Afghanistan, as a greater threat than he had previously assessed them to be, according to officials.
Pakistan Urges On Taliban - WSJ.com
The explosive accusation is the strongest yet in a series of U.S. criticisms of Pakistan, and shows a deteriorating relationship with an essential ally in the Afghan campaign. The U.S. has provided billions of dollars in military and development aid to Pakistan for its support.
The U.S. and Afghanistan have sought to persuade midlevel Taliban commanders to lay down their weapons in exchange for jobs or cash. The most recent Afghan effort at starting a peace process took place this week in Kabul.
But few Taliban have given up the fight, officials say. Some Taliban commanders and U.S. officials say militant leaders are being pressured by officers from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency not to surrender.
"The ISI wants to arrest commanders who are not obeying [ISI] orders," said a Taliban commander in Kunar province.
U.S. officials say they have heard similar reports from captured militants and those negotiating to lay down their arms.
A senior Pakistani official dismissed the allegation, insisting Islamabad is fighting militants, not aiding them.
Whenever anything goes wrong in Afghanistan, ISI is to be blamed," said the senior Pakistani official. "Honestly, they see ISI agents behind every bush in Afghanistan."
The explosive accusations of ISI efforts to keep Taliban commanders on the battlefield are the strongest yet in a series of U.S. criticisms of Pakistan, and show a deteriorating relationship with an essential ally. The U.S. has provided billions of dollars in military and development aid to Pakistan in return for its support for the Afghan war and its own fight against extremists; the reports suggest some Pakistani officials are undermining that strategy.
The Taliban commander in Kunar, like others interviewed in recent days, said he remained opposed to the presence of foreign troops in Afghanistan and had no plans to stop fighting them. But "the ISI wants us to kill everyonepolicemen, soldiers, engineers, teachers, civiliansjust to intimidate people," the commander said.
He said he refused, and that the ISI had tried to arrest him. "Afghans are all brothers; tomorrow we could be sitting together in one room."
The allegations of interference by the Pakistani spy agency come amid a new U.S. strategic focus on Pakistan as key territory in the Afghan war.
Gen. David Petraeus, who took over in July as the top coalition commander in Afghanistan, has come to see militant havens in Pakistan, from which the Afghan Taliban and Haqqani network of radicals stage attacks in Afghanistan, as a greater threat than he had previously assessed them to be, according to officials.
Pakistan Urges On Taliban - WSJ.com
