Islamabad (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Pakistan rejected on Monday what it calls “unsubstantiated information” posted by Wikileaks, Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit said as he expressed his government’s reaction to the release of 92,000 classified documents by the online whistleblower alleging that Pakistani intelligence services were playing both sides of the war in Afghanistan, de facto backing al-Qaeda.
The highly classified documents, which are said to come from top US intelligence agencies, claim that the Pakistani government, especially its intelligence service, helped Islamic fighters, refrained from intervening in areas in which Taliban leaders found refuge, and even supplied them with information about imminent raids and attacks.
Foreign and local sources claim that Osama bin Laden and mullah Omar were present in Pakistan itself.
Pakistani envoy to the United States, Hussain Haqqani, said the documents “do not reflect the current on-ground realities”. The US, Afghanistan and Pakistan are “jointly endeavouring to defeat al Qaeda and its Taliban allies militarily and politically”, he insisted.
"The people of Pakistan and its security forces, including the ISI (Inter-services Intelligence), have rendered enormous sacrifices against militancy and terrorism. Our contributions have been acknowledged by the international community, in particular by the United States," the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said.
However, many of the documents appear to admit no doubts. In addition to providing “protection” to al-Qaeda, some evidence suggests that members of Pakistani intelligence took part in Taliban meetings to plan Taliban attacks and arrange plots against Afghan leaders.
The White House has confirmed its trust in its Pakistani ally, for now.
