ANI, October 16, 2009

Pak may be aiding Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan to hit back at India: Report

The report said that inside the Canadian government, some harbour suspicions that while the Pakistan Army has shown willingness against the Taliban in the northwest, it has no intention of dismantling Mullah Omar’s nexus in Balochistan.

Even as the Pakistan Army is all prepared and waits for a nod from the government to launch an all out offensive in South Waziristan, the Taliban’s stronghold, many inside the Canadian government who deal with Pakistan and Afghanistan issues are suspicious of Islamabad’s efforts.

They believe that Pakistan’s Army and intelligence (the Inter Services Intelligence) are far more concerned with countering India, than taking on the real enemy, which poses an existential threat to the country itself.

With the relationship between India and Afghanistan reaching new heights, Pakistan is hoping to use the Taliban in a proxy war against India to limit its influence in the region.

“The army will fight Taliban in the northwest, but leave those in Balochistan free to mount operations in Afghanistan,” a report in The Globe and Mail said.

The report said that inside the Canadian government, some harbour suspicions that while the Pakistan Army has shown willingness against the Taliban in the northwest, it has no intention of dismantling Mullah Omar’s nexus in Balochistan.

The Zardari government has been saying that it is determined to fight back the extremists, but Ottawa is skeptical about Islamabad’s actions, which was evident after it announced 25-million dollars for the victims of the military offensive in the Swat Valley despite repeated appeals from Pakistan to increase aid and trade, and the lift the decade-old arms-sales embargo.

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