Are Taliban agents of the ISI or Government of Pakistan?

[Maiwand]

[RevolutionThroughReason]

agents? not all of them. Patsies who are being used to serve their agenda both knowingly (leadership) and unknowingly (rank and file) , yes

[Niazi]

You live in cloud coco land?

[abassinafghan]

a young boy living most of his life in dutchland , telling all the people who have seen much bad , that they are all wrong and his heros are so pure and real .... its sad really sad

[torkham]

when you are in afghanistan, everything you say about a panjshiri or a talib, a herati or kandahari, uzbaki or paktiawal, taliban or NA, there is a reality that bites hard and deep. only thing that happens here on PF is you might get busted by another member. Just a thought.

[haviZsultan]

The taliban simply wouldn't be attacking Pakistani interests if they were actually agents

[Manzareh]

^ Well why did the Pakistani government arrest so many 'terrorists' accross Pakistan and yet fund the Terrorists at the same time? tactics perhapse?

[Levanaye Zalmaye]

Pakistan has not arrested any senior member of the Taliban fighting in Afghanistan (but stationed in Pakistan). The only major exception is Mullah Beradar, who was arrested because he tried to independently negotiate with the Americans, without Islamabad's "mediation". There have been a couple more arrests but those Taliban members have been kept away from the Americans, despite their various protests.

One must understand that al-Qaeda and the Taliban have disassociated themselves from each other considerably. That's why al-Qaeda is now allied with the TTP of Hekmatyar Mehsud (or whoever is running it these days) and not the other Taliban factions. Even the pro-al-Qaeda Uzbeks were driven out of North Waziristan by pro-Pakistani Taliban factions that operate in Afghanistan but are based in Pakistan.

The TTP is a criminal and not a "Jihadi" organization. On the other hand, the "Jihadi" groups - namely, the Quetta Shura (Mullah Omar), Hafiz Gul Bahadur, Hekmatyaar, Haqqani, Maulvi Nazir and various other groups engaged in Afghanistan, have never been targeted by the Pakistani army. The only organization the Pakistanis have targeted is the TTP, which, again, is more focused on making money and expanding its territory than it is on waging "Jihad".

In fact, in 2006, the Pakistani military signed a peace agreement with the North Waziristan factions called the Waziristan Accord to to this day, no member of the Taliban arrested in Pakistan has been handed over to the US (whereas dozens of al-Qaeda members have been handed over). In fact, most of the families of senior Taliban members live in Islamabad and Rawalpindi (in case the Taliban try to betray Pakistan).

It's an uneasy relationship, to say the least. Virtually all of the Taliban's supplies come through Pakistan. So the Taliban will never be able to displease Islamabad or else, they'll be starved of weapons and other supplies. On the other hand, Islamabad exerts no operational control over the different Taliban factions.

The Taliban want NATO to withdraw from Afghanistan and Pakistan wants to ensure that a post-NATO Afghanistan would be subservient to Islamabad. In international relations, they're interests rather than ideologies that bring different state and non-state actors together.

Does this mean that every foot-soldier fighting in Helmand and Kandahar is an ISI agent? No. But is the entire Taliban leadership allied to Pakistan? Yes. They know that if Islamabad wants, it can cut off their supply lines within days. And Islamabad knows that if NATO helps rebuild a democratic Afghanistan, Pakistan would, again, find itself surrounded on both sides by hostile states. The stakes are higher this time around because Pakistan is now seen in the West as a pariah state. It can't risk not trying to re-invade Afghanistan.

[Manzareh]

Why would a democratic Afghanistan automatically be hostile to Pakistan?

[Levanaye Zalmaye]

Why would a democratic Afghanistan automatically be hostile to Pakistan?

For the same reasons why Afghanistan was hostile to Pakistan from 1947 to 1973 and from 1973 to 1995.

The Durand Line issue: Afghanistan does not accept the Durand Line as an international border.

The Pashtunistan issue: Pakistan's ideology is inherently faulty because it seeks to distance Muslim Pashtuns from each other on both sides of the Durand Line. When Afghanistan was independent and Pashtun nationalists had power in Pashtunkhwa, the number one security threat to Pakistan was from Pashtun nationalists. Ironically, today, it emanates from Pashtun extremists that Punjab nurtured to defeat the Pashtun nationalists.

The issue of transit trade: Pakistan will try to gain leverage over landlocked Afghanistan by trying to control its trade.

Lastly, the Afghan people are not huge fans of Pakistan. A government representative of them will share the same sentiment.

[Soldat_Amir]

The only Talib Maiwand from Holland has met or seen is the one on As Sahab Media.

If this guy has any sense or knowledge he would ask himself why Mullah Nazir opposes attacks on Pakistan army.

Why not a single Haqqani attack has been done on Pakistan

and why so many IDPS from Waziristan will tell you the number of times they have seen Taliban with Pakistani soldiers hanging about.

Maiwand your a disgrace and a liar. you live in denial.

Go to Miram Shah or Mir Ali, or what about Angoor Adda or Datta Khel and see for yourself your Afghan brothers in the Taliban hanging about with Pakistani soldiers.

Go on I dare you ohhh wait you wouldnt dare go there since your comfy bed and Dutch Nationality is more important than truth.

[engrmech]

This is a false propaganda by the puppets of West against Taliban. Pakistan army has helped US and NATO in every format to dismantle Taliban. Pakistan army has two fronts, Afghan Taliban and Pakistani Taliban. It can't fight with all of them, therefore it has adopted a certain strategy and that is to have a direct fight with Pakistani Taliban and an indirect war with Afghan Taliban. The direct war can be seen by every one and needs no explanation, while about the indirect war I shall say, the drone attacks is a super fit example. Besides, Pakistan is helping Afghan Govt. and NATO troops by supply of logistics through Pakistan. Pakistan fully co operates with NATO. I must say that Islam has suffered a lot due to Pakistani security establishment. Whatever has the upload said is a false propaganda against Taliban and infact this may be the typical tongue of Puppet Afghan Government which has never accepted Pakistan

[Shah-i-Kot]

[QUOTE]

Pakistan has not arrested any senior member of the Taliban fighting in Afghanistan (but stationed in Pakistan).

Abdul Zaeef, the former Taliban Ambassador to Pakistan was arrested and handed over to US. He was subsequently taken to Guantanamo. Obaidullah, a former Taliban defense minister was incarcerated by Pakistan, and died in incarceration, mostly due to torture. Thats another senior official.

The only major exception is Mullah Beradar, who was arrested because he tried to independently negotiate with the Americans, without Islamabad's "mediation".

Wrong, just pointed above.


In FACT, the US/NATO war and Karzai regime is not possible without Pakistani transit routes, ground and air. These transit routes support a well armed alliance of over 50 NATO countries with fuel and ammunition. Heavy weaponry for NATO also passes via Pakistani land and air routes.

These are facts. Pakistan supports the US/NATO war and the Karzai regime. Without this support, both are not possible.

[RevolutionThroughReason]

but Abdul Zaeef's capture is so trivial considering he had no operational influence in the Taliban what so ever, he was just an Ambassdor which means he was just a Promotional Rep. It would be like trying to capture a White House Press Secretary/


The capture of Zaeef means nothing except appeasing the American Govt.

[badmash_khel]

Pakistan supports the war because it is making money out of the war and also due to the pressure from America/NATO who threatened to "bomb them back to stone age", if they didn't corporate. That's according to Musharaf himself.

Here is my reply on another thread

TTP and Taliban from Afghanistan consider themselves as one. They differ on certain issues such as Afghan Taliban don't attack Pakistani forces or pakistani facilities on pakistani soil. TTP on the other hand does attack Pakistani forces. This difference is likely due to the fact that Mullah Omar feels that he needs pakistan on his side and Pakistan also need the Afghan Taliban on their side when the Americans leave. To attack pakistan would be foolish for Mullah Omar since its the pakistanis who have given him sanctuary and safe havens for his fighters. Mullah Omar tries his best that the TTP do not attack pakistani forces but sometimes TTP do things on their own because of some rogue elements and the command structure of TTP is not as strong as the Afghan Taliban.

In Pakistan's view there are two types of Taliban. The good Taliban (Afghan Taliban) and the bad Taliban (TTP). That's why you will see Pakistan helping the Afghan Taliban and even rescuing their senior figures from Kunduz by helucopters as the Americans were comming.

Pakistan only attacks those Talibans who are a threat to Pakistan. Sometimes due to American/NATO pressure they might attack the Afghan taliban but they try to limit the damage as much as they can.

Pakistan is playing a double game by getting money from America/NATO for the transit of goods through Pakistani territory and "fighting" the Taliban. On the otherhand they only kill the Taliban who are dangerous to Pakistan but leave those alone whom they think they can use as valuable assets against India and their other goals.

The only reason Pakistan acts against Taliban is because they can get money from America and American pressure. I must say Pakistan has played this game to almost perfection. But you never know that these same Taliban might become the biggest nightmare for Pakistn uniting tribes from both sides of Durand line.

The marriage between Taliban and Pakistan is a compicated one.