Leaked NATO report 'frivolous', says Pakistan
Pakistan committed to non-interference in Afghanistan, says foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Basit.
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan on Wednesday hit out angrily at a leaked NATO report accusing its security services of secretly aiding the Afghan Taliban, calling it "frivolous" and "not worth commenting on".
"This is frivolous, to put it mildly. We are committed to non-interference in Afghanistan and expect all other states to strictly adhere to this principle," foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Basit told AFP.
A senior security official condemned the leak, as reported by the BBC, which also broadcast a documentary "Secret Pakistan" last year accusing parts of Pakistan's intelligence service of complicity with Taliban militants.
"The report is not available, leaks not worth commenting," he told AFP.
"We are also committed to an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned reconciliation process," Basit said.
"Pakistan has suffered enormously because of the long conflict in Afghanistan. A stable and peaceful Afghanistan is in our own interest and we are very much cognisant of this".
Report not analysis of progress: ISAF
A spokesman for NATO forces in Kabul has said that the leaked report is not an analysis of the progress of the military campaign.
The document "may provide some level of representative sampling of Taliban opinions and ideals but clearly should not be used as any interpretation of campaign progress," said Lieutenant Colonel Jimmie Cummings.
Cummings told AFP: "The classified document is a compilation of Taliban detainees' opinions and ideals based on their comments while in detention.
"It's important that this context be understood and extremely important not to draw conclusions based on the Taliban comments."
Pakistan on Wednesday hit out angrily at a leaked NATO report accusing its security services of secretly aiding the Afghan Taliban, calling it "frivolous" and "not worth commenting on".
"This is frivolous, to put it mildly. We are committed to non-interference in Afghanistan and expect all other states to strictly adhere to this principle," foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Basit told AFP.
A senior security official condemned the leak, as reported by the BBC, which also broadcast a documentary "Secret Pakistan" last year accusing parts of Pakistan's intelligence service of complicity with Taliban militants.
"The report is not available, leaks not worth commenting," he told AFP.
"We are also committed to an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned reconciliation process," Basit said.
"Pakistan has suffered enormously because of the long conflict in Afghanistan. A stable and peaceful Afghanistan is in our own interest and we are very much cognisant of this".
Report not analysis of progress: ISAF
A spokesman for NATO forces in Kabul has said that the leaked report is not an analysis of the progress of the military campaign.
The document "may provide some level of representative sampling of Taliban opinions and ideals but clearly should not be used as any interpretation of campaign progress," said Lieutenant Colonel Jimmie Cummings.
Cummings told AFP: "The classified document is a compilation of Taliban detainees' opinions and ideals based on their comments while in detention.
"It's important that this context be understood and extremely important not to draw conclusions based on the Taliban comments."