Report: Islamabad wary of Taliban's return to power

Ex-ISI chief's views offer interesting insight
By Rob Crilly
Published: 00:00 March 23, 2012




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Islamabad: Pakistan does not want the Taliban to seize control of Afghanistan when international forces pull out, according to a leaked account of a meeting with the recently retired head of its intelligence service.

The country's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency has long been accused of siding with the Taliban as part of a strategy to ensure a friendly government in Kabul and to ensure that its arch-rival India cannot gain a foothold.

But details of an interview with Lt Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha, who stepped down as ISI director-general, give an insight into the agency's secretive world and its position on Afghanistan.

The account of the meeting in April last year written by a researcher with the private intelligence firm Stratfor and obtained by WikiLeaks suggests that the ISI fears that a Taliban takeover would have dangerous implications for Pakistan's security.


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"We do not wish to see the Talibs dominate Afghanistan," he said.

"On the contrary, we want to see a broad-based government that can end the civil war in that country, which has had a disastrous fallout for us. Of course the Talibs will be a key player in a post-Nato Afghanistan, which we feel is necessary for true peace to take place."

Period of evolution'

Well-placed observers in Islamabad suggest Pakistan's Afghan policy is undergoing a period of "evolution". Having worked closely with jihadi groups to oust Soviet forces from Afghanistan in the 1980s and then helped the Taliban to power, Pakistan's security forces have suffered huge losses in recent years as some militant groups turned against Islamabad.

That concern about violence remains balanced, for now, with the knowledge that the Taliban could still be useful in negotiating a favourable deal in Afghanistan.

Public condemnation

Even the US diplomatic cables leaked by WikiLeaks in late 2010 showed that Pakistan's civilian and military leaders privately supported US drone attacks, despite public condemnation in a country where the US alliance is hugely unpopular.

The New America Foundation think-tank in Washington had said drone strikes in Pakistan have killed between 1,715 and 2,680 people in the past eight years. Pakistan is reviewing its entire alliance with the US and has kept its Afghan border closed to Nato supply convoys since last November's strike.

Furthermore, Pakistan has to convince the US that its tribal belt provides no sanctuary to Taliban militants fighting in Afghanistan.

The Telegraph Group Limited, London, 2012.


http://gulfnews.com/news/world/pakistan/report-islamabad-wary-of-taliban-s-return-to-power-1.998625

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Pakistan Airforce: The largest distributor of Indian airforce parts in Asia



Pathankot Strike
8 F-86Fs of No 19 Squadron led by Squadron Leader Sajjad Haider struck Pathankot airfield. With carefully positioned dives and selecting each individual aircraft in their protected pens for their strafing attacks, the strike elements completed a textbook operation against Pathankot. Wing Commander M G Tawab, flying one of the two Sabres as tied escorts overhead, counted 14 wrecks burning on the airfield. Among the aircraft destroyed on the ground were nearly all of the IAFs Soviet-supplied Mig-21s till then received, none of which were seen again during the War.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFHlzP69n9c

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Aha ha ha...Its like saying, people in euroland love the torks. Things only Pakis and their brothas the subhuman toorks can believe, LOL!

LOL, but aren't the ones in Afghanistan the "good" Taliban? Shocks Parado, your politicians don't seem to have gotten the memo from you

what brain dead posters..lol

but i am glad to see PA moderating it;s stance that only taliban can only come to power. a broad based government is the only solution.


now it is up to the moronic americans to wake up and smell the coffee.

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Pakistan Airforce: The largest distributor of Indian airforce parts in Asia



Pathankot Strike
8 F-86Fs of No 19 Squadron led by Squadron Leader Sajjad Haider struck Pathankot airfield. With carefully positioned dives and selecting each individual aircraft in their protected pens for their strafing attacks, the strike elements completed a textbook operation against Pathankot. Wing Commander M G Tawab, flying one of the two Sabres as tied escorts overhead, counted 14 wrecks burning on the airfield. Among the aircraft destroyed on the ground were nearly all of the IAFs Soviet-supplied Mig-21s till then received, none of which were seen again during the War.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFHlzP69n9c

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"LOL, but aren't the ones in Afghanistan the "good" Taliban? Shocks Parado, your politicians don't seem to have gotten the memo from you"

Now Fariborz, let's not leap to conclusions. As Prado has pointed out in the past, the article could also be referring to the...

Slightly-better-than-bad-but-not-quite-good Taliban
Almost-good-but-occasionally-bad Taliban
Mostly-indifferent-but-sometimes-good Taliban
Good-Mondays-Wednesdays-and-Fridays-but-bad-Tuesdays-and-Thursdays Taliban
etc.

...I really hope Prado will clarify precisely which of the 2,615 different groups of Taliban the article refers to.

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read the above clearly...... a broad based government is the only solution and hence taliban will be included whether you like it or not. The current Karzai model has failed miserably.


the fact you are having negogiations with them Qatar evidence you cant beat them with force of arms alone....




do some reading clown...

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Pakistan Airforce: The largest distributor of Indian airforce parts in Asia



Pathankot Strike
8 F-86Fs of No 19 Squadron led by Squadron Leader Sajjad Haider struck Pathankot airfield. With carefully positioned dives and selecting each individual aircraft in their protected pens for their strafing attacks, the strike elements completed a textbook operation against Pathankot. Wing Commander M G Tawab, flying one of the two Sabres as tied escorts overhead, counted 14 wrecks burning on the airfield. Among the aircraft destroyed on the ground were nearly all of the IAFs Soviet-supplied Mig-21s till then received, none of which were seen again during the War.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFHlzP69n9c

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"do some reading clown... "

Why waste my time reading about Afghanistan or Pakistan for that matter? If you look seriously at Pakistan and Afghanistan, once the West leaves the area (and the Chinese drop Pakistan as being more trouble than they are worth) they are both heading toward becoming failed states like Somalia...with never ending tribal warfare and starvation. Enjoy!

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So true, Coalde, but luckily our friend Prado won't have to worry. He lives in the Gulf, bowing and scraping to do work his Arab brothers are too good to do themselves. As I recall, he cleans their toilets or some such. He'll always be fed and safe while he cheers on the great Pakistani nation and his Taliban friends.

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"The chief aim of all government is to preserve the freedom of the citizen. His control over his person, his property, his movements, his business, his desires should be restrained only so far as the public welfare imperatively demands. The world is in more danger of being governed too much than too little. It is the teaching of all history that liberty can only be preserved in small areas. Local self-government is, therefore, indispensable to liberty. A centralized and distant bureaucracy is the worst of all tyranny. Taxation can justly be levied for no purpose other than to provide revenue for the support of the government. To tax one person, class or section to provide revenue for the benefit of another is none the less robbery because done under the form of law and called taxation." John W. Davis, Democratic Presidential Candidate, 1924. Davis was one of the greatest trial and appellate lawyers in US history. He also served as the US Ambassador to the UK.

@colduck


nice childish speech.... u might want diverted to the US who spends USD 400 billion on this area every year... the funny thing no body in region except the indians want you there.

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Pakistan Airforce: The largest distributor of Indian airforce parts in Asia



Pathankot Strike
8 F-86Fs of No 19 Squadron led by Squadron Leader Sajjad Haider struck Pathankot airfield. With carefully positioned dives and selecting each individual aircraft in their protected pens for their strafing attacks, the strike elements completed a textbook operation against Pathankot. Wing Commander M G Tawab, flying one of the two Sabres as tied escorts overhead, counted 14 wrecks burning on the airfield. Among the aircraft destroyed on the ground were nearly all of the IAFs Soviet-supplied Mig-21s till then received, none of which were seen again during the War.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFHlzP69n9c

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"nice childish speech.... u might want diverted to the US who spends USD 400 billion on this area every year... the funny thing no body in region except the indians want you there. "

...and I have serious doubts that will continue...certainly I can't see any point in giving money to an openly hostile government.

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"Come out from man foul spirit. What is thy name?" And he said unto him, "Our name is legion, for we are many." Gospel of Mark, 5 - 8

Patriotism is your conviction that your country is superior to all others because you were born in it. George Bernard Shaw

"nice childish speech.... u might want diverted to the US who spends USD 400 billion on this area every year... the funny thing no body in region except the indians want you there. "

...and I have serious doubts that will continue...certainly I can't see any point in giving money to an openly hostile government.

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"Come out from man foul spirit. What is thy name?" And he said unto him, "Our name is legion, for we are many." Gospel of Mark, 5 - 8

Patriotism is your conviction that your country is superior to all others because you were born in it. George Bernard Shaw

and I have serious doubts that will continue...certainly I can't see any point in giving money to an openly hostile government.************

RE: here some insider tip for you, DLA has requested it's main SPV contractor to prepare proposals to continue supporting US troops till 2030...

you are going no where.

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Pakistan Airforce: The largest distributor of Indian airforce parts in Asia



Pathankot Strike
8 F-86Fs of No 19 Squadron led by Squadron Leader Sajjad Haider struck Pathankot airfield. With carefully positioned dives and selecting each individual aircraft in their protected pens for their strafing attacks, the strike elements completed a textbook operation against Pathankot. Wing Commander M G Tawab, flying one of the two Sabres as tied escorts overhead, counted 14 wrecks burning on the airfield. Among the aircraft destroyed on the ground were nearly all of the IAFs Soviet-supplied Mig-21s till then received, none of which were seen again during the War.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFHlzP69n9c

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So true, Coalde, but luckily our friend Prado won't have to worry. He lives in the Gulf, bowing and scraping to do work his Arab brothers are too good to do themselves.**************

RE: work of a US oil & gas giant...lol no

As I recall, he cleans their toilets or some such.******

RE: actually you remind me of a toliet, some times you are occupied and some times you are full of crap.


He'll always be fed and safe while he cheers on the great Pakistani nation and his Taliban friends.*****

RE: and who do you want me to cheer? the great US army? whose soldiers piss on dead bodies and murder innoccent women and children....

i choose the more sane side...

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Pakistan Airforce: The largest distributor of Indian airforce parts in Asia



Pathankot Strike
8 F-86Fs of No 19 Squadron led by Squadron Leader Sajjad Haider struck Pathankot airfield. With carefully positioned dives and selecting each individual aircraft in their protected pens for their strafing attacks, the strike elements completed a textbook operation against Pathankot. Wing Commander M G Tawab, flying one of the two Sabres as tied escorts overhead, counted 14 wrecks burning on the airfield. Among the aircraft destroyed on the ground were nearly all of the IAFs Soviet-supplied Mig-21s till then received, none of which were seen again during the War.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFHlzP69n9c

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"here some insider tip for you, DLA has requested it's main SPV contractor to prepare proposals to continue supporting US troops till 2030...you are going no where."

I have my doubts about that...I am pretty sure that whole region will left to itself prior to 2015) until the next time one of the tribal warlords in the areas currently known as Pakistan and Afghanistan decide to cause trouble outside of the region. This time I suspect there will be no troops sent, just bombers. I feel sorry for the average people that live in these areas, hopefully the trend of the best and brightest leaving in droves never to return will continue (that will minimize the waste of the human potential).

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"Come out from man foul spirit. What is thy name?" And he said unto him, "Our name is legion, for we are many." Gospel of Mark, 5 - 8

Patriotism is your conviction that your country is superior to all others because you were born in it. George Bernard Shaw

we shall see......

if ever understood the real reason why US actually came to afganistan you would know they would never leave...

they wont have the large number infantry units as before but SP ops and drone bases are here to stay..

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Pakistan Airforce: The largest distributor of Indian airforce parts in Asia



Pathankot Strike
8 F-86Fs of No 19 Squadron led by Squadron Leader Sajjad Haider struck Pathankot airfield. With carefully positioned dives and selecting each individual aircraft in their protected pens for their strafing attacks, the strike elements completed a textbook operation against Pathankot. Wing Commander M G Tawab, flying one of the two Sabres as tied escorts overhead, counted 14 wrecks burning on the airfield. Among the aircraft destroyed on the ground were nearly all of the IAFs Soviet-supplied Mig-21s till then received, none of which were seen again during the War.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFHlzP69n9c

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"if ever understood the real reason why US actually came to afganistan you would know they would never leave."

Oh and what would that be? Natural resources? Sorry dude that argument has been economically and financially debunked so many times I can't even count. Pakistan's nukes? No real worries for the west there as Pakistan lacks any delivery system to get it to the West and it's level of warhead miniaturization makes suitcase bombs impossible.

"they wont have the large number infantry units as before but SP ops and drone bases are here to stay."

Why bother? I certainly imagine that there will be HUMINT intelligence assets liberally sprinkled throughout the region by the west, but for the most part it looks like the Islamic radicals have basically turned upon one another and the national governments of both Afghanistan and Pakistan. You folks sort it out...

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So true, Coalde, but luckily our friend Prado won't have to worry. He lives in the Gulf, bowing and scraping to do work his Arab brothers are too good to do themselves.**************

RE: work of a US oil & gas giant...lol no

WEll, US oil and gas giants have toilets, too, I suppose.

RE: actually you remind me of a toliet, some times you are occupied and some times you are full of crap.

LOL. Yeah, you'd be the expert, wouldn't you?

RE: and who do you want me to cheer? the great US army? whose soldiers piss on dead bodies and murder innoccent women and children....

Yeah it's so much better to strap explosives on the kids and behead people, right, Prado?

i choose the more sane side...

I suppose that when all you see all day are filthy Arab toilets, Pakistan and its Taliban buddies might look sane to you. At least, your safe and cozy with your Arab boyfriends while the real sh*t hits the fan.

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"The chief aim of all government is to preserve the freedom of the citizen. His control over his person, his property, his movements, his business, his desires should be restrained only so far as the public welfare imperatively demands. The world is in more danger of being governed too much than too little. It is the teaching of all history that liberty can only be preserved in small areas. Local self-government is, therefore, indispensable to liberty. A centralized and distant bureaucracy is the worst of all tyranny. Taxation can justly be levied for no purpose other than to provide revenue for the support of the government. To tax one person, class or section to provide revenue for the benefit of another is none the less robbery because done under the form of law and called taxation." John W. Davis, Democratic Presidential Candidate, 1924. Davis was one of the greatest trial and appellate lawyers in US history. He also served as the US Ambassador to the UK.

@COLADE

you are confusing your personal opinions with ground reality.... resources? guess you never heard of Afgan litium reserves or the resources of the CIS ?....no body spends billion with out a specific agenda.


believe me i want u guys to get lost... no body wants you .. unfortunately the US has sinister objectives in this region.

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Pakistan Airforce: The largest distributor of Indian airforce parts in Asia



Pathankot Strike
8 F-86Fs of No 19 Squadron led by Squadron Leader Sajjad Haider struck Pathankot airfield. With carefully positioned dives and selecting each individual aircraft in their protected pens for their strafing attacks, the strike elements completed a textbook operation against Pathankot. Wing Commander M G Tawab, flying one of the two Sabres as tied escorts overhead, counted 14 wrecks burning on the airfield. Among the aircraft destroyed on the ground were nearly all of the IAFs Soviet-supplied Mig-21s till then received, none of which were seen again during the War.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFHlzP69n9c

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