Report: Pakistani spy agency supports Taliban (ISI)

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan's main spy agency continues to arm and train the Taliban and is even represented on the group's leadership council despite U.S. pressure to sever ties and billions in aid to combat the militants, said a research report released Sunday.

The findings could heighten tension between the two countries and raise further questions about U.S. success in Afghanistan since Pakistani cooperation is seen as key to defeating the Taliban, which seized power in Kabul in the 1990s with Islamabad's support.

U.S. officials have suggested in the past that current or former members of Pakistan's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency, or ISI, have maintained links to the Taliban despite the government's decision to denounce the group in 2001 under U.S. pressure.

But the report issued Sunday by the London School of Economics offered one of the strongest cases that assistance to the group is official ISI policy, and even extends to the highest levels of the Pakistani government.

Matt Waldman was formerly Head of Policy and Advocacy for Oxfam International in Afghanistan, where he has worked for the past two and half years, and is the author of a number of reports on the country, including on peace-building, protection of civilians, civil-military affairs, development and aid effectiveness.

From 2004-2006 he was the Liberal Democrats Foreign Affairs and Defence Adviser based in the UK Parliament, with responsibility for formulating party policy on international affairs, including Iraq, Afghanistan, and human rights issues.

Matt has also worked as a foreign affairs adviser in the European Parliament, and was deputy director of overseas operations for a UK children’s charity, which included work in post-conflict countries in Eastern Europe and Africa.

Prior to this he trained and practised as a lawyer with the London-based, international law firm, Norton Rose, which involved work in Europe and Russia. He holds a Masters Degree in Human Rights from London School of Economics. His current research focuses on the conflict in Afghanistan, in particular, the implications of reconciliation and negotiations with insurgents.

http://www.hks.harvard.edu/cchrp/aboutus/fellows.php

This is a very important report and it will have a big impact.

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