Pakistan: ‘No Hidden Agenda’ in Afghanistan

Posted February 1st, 2012 at 4:35 pm (UTC-5)
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Pakistan says it has no “hidden agenda” in Afghanistan, and has dismissed a recently leaked classified NATO report that accuses it of secretly assisting the Afghan Taliban.

The report alleges that Taliban insurgents are targeting coalition troops in Afghanistan with the help of Pakistan's military intelligence agency, the ISI.

On Wednesday, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry called the allegations “frivolous.” Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, on a one-day visit to Afghanistan, said her country wants peace and stability in Afghanistan because “continued conflict in the neighboring country is a threat to Pakistan's existence.”

Following the talks with Khar, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Kabul recognizes the “effective role Pakistan can play” in the Afghan peace process.

Also Wednesday, the Afghan Taliban denied reports it was sending a delegation to Saudi Arabia to attend peace talks with Afghan government officials.

Afghan officials had suggested that such a dialogue would take place separately from reported peace efforts in Qatar between the United States and the Taliban.

The insurgent group has repeatedly refused to deal with Mr. Karzai's government, calling it a “puppet regime.”

A NATO spokesman said the leaked report was a collection of opinions of Taliban detainees, not an analysis of the war's progress. He also rejected the assertion the Taliban was winning the war, now in its 11th year.

The report was leaked by Britain's Times newspaper and the BBC.

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been tense, as Afghan officials have accused militants from Pakistan of fomenting violence in Afghanistan and disrupting the peace process there.