Musharraf U-Turn On Taliban

The Telegraph (UK) ^ | 10-3-2006 | Isambard Wilkinson

[blam]

Musharraf U-turn on Taliban

By Isambard Wilkinson in Islamabad
(Filed: 03/10/2006)

Retired Pakistani intelligence officers could be running the Taliban insurgency against coalition forces in Afghanistan, Pakistan's president, Gen Pervez Musharraf, has said.

He made the admission to an American television channel at the weekend — the first time he had broken from his usual policy of denying any Pakistani hand in the rebellion against American, British and other forces.

Asked on NBC television if his Inter Services Intelligence Agency (ISI) was involved in helping Taliban fighters, he said that retired rogue officers might be involved.

"I have some reports that some dissidents, some people, retired people who were in the forefront in ISI during the period of 1979 to 89, may be assisting with their links somewhere here and there.

"We are keeping a very tight watch and we'll get a hold of them if that happens."

The ISI was closely involved in helping the Afghan resistance against the Soviet occupation during the 1980s, often working alongside the Americans. It is now under renewed international scrutiny after it was accused of supporting not only the Taliban uprising but Islamic terrorists in India.

India has said that it will give evidence to the Pakistani government about the alleged involvement of the military-run ISI in July's Mumbai train bombings, which killed 186 people.

Gen Musharraf's remarks confirmed suspicions long held by western diplomats. Gen Musharraf has hitherto fiercely rejected the claims, saying during a visit to Britain last week that the West would be "brought to its knees" without Pakistan's help.

"Remember my words: if the ISI is not with you and Pakistan is not with you, you will lose in Afghanistan," he said.

The ISI helped the Taliban rise to power in the mid-1990s, largely in an attempt to ensure that Kabul would be in the hands of rulers who were sympathetic to Islamabad and therefore grant Pakistan much-coveted strategic depth in the event of a conflict with India.

From 1989 the agency also backed an Islamic insurgency in India's portion of divided Kashmir and trained and directed several jihadi groups.

[AdvisorB]

General Hamid Gul, the former pakistani head of ISI, was responsible for supporting Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, an Afghan Pashtun radical islamist in the war against the soviets, and supporting Al-qaeda after the collapse of the soviet imposed government in Afghanistan. He has been and is still the Pak godfather of terrorism. This is the creep that Musharraf is alluding too. He needs to be taken out, now.