Pakistan Using Informal Intelligence Channels To Prop Up Taliban Fight Against ISIS

The Washington Post

Pakistan Using Informal Intelligence Channels To Prop Up Taliban Fight Against ISIS

By Susannah George, Joby Warrick and Karen DeYoung
 
KABUL — As the Islamic State-Khorasan is ramping up attacks in Afghanistan, Pakistan is using a network of informal channels to feed intelligence and technical support to the Taliban to combat the threat, according to two Taliban leaders.

Pakistan is passing the group raw information as well as helping it monitor phone and Internet communication to identify Islamic State members and operational hubs, according to a senior Taliban leader who, along with a Taliban commander and others in this report, spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

A Pakistani official described the communication between the two sides as informal discussions, rather than an established intelligence-sharing partnership.

Pakistan appears to be one of the few foreign governments directly aiding the Taliban in the Islamic State fight, despite concerns from the United States and other countries that Afghanistan could once again become a haven for militants to carry out attacks on international targets if the Taliban is unable to contain them. Regional rivalries, deep-rooted distrust and the Taliban’s counterterrorism shortcomings have also complicated intelligence sharing with the group, according to current and former U.S. officials.

“Pakistan is our brother and they support us in many ways, including sharing information and intelligence [about the Islamic State]. If the United States and the rest of the world shares information with us we could defeat Daesh in just days,” said the senior Taliban leader, using another name for the Islamic State.

Full story https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/10/23/afghanistan-isis-pakistan-intelligence/