External Actors in the Afghan Problem
continues...

Pakistani private companies, often run by retired military officers, carried out significant procurement of munitions and spare parts for the Taleban, buying considerable quantities from Chinese manufacturers through dealers in Hong Kong and also from dealers in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. Arms purchased in this manner appeared to move primarily by ship. Sealed containers were brought into the port of Karachi and then moved by truck to Afghanistan without inspection, as per the Afghan Transit Trade Agreement (ATTA).

Diplomatic observers interviewed by Human Rights Watch in Afghanistan and Pakistan in July and October 2000 also reported that Pakistani aircraft assisted troop rotations for Taleban forces during combat operations in late 2000. Besides, senior members of the ISI and army were involved in planning military operations.

Private and semi-private agencies in Pakistan, including political parties, religious institutions and business cartels, provided enormous support to the Taleban with the full knowledge of government officials even when the Taleban’s actions violated Pakistani law.

Finally, the Pakistani army facilitated the recruitment of Pakistani Madrassa (religious school) students, including children, to fight with the Taleban. William Maley describes Pakistan’s involvement in Afghanistan as “creeping invasion”. By creeping invasion, Maley refers to a ‘middle powers’ use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of another state, but covertly and through surrogates, denying all the while that it is doing any such thing.

Following the 2001 US operation in Afghanistan and the resultant fall of the Taleban, Pakistan recognized the transitional administration led by Hamid Karzai and offered significant amounts of aid and continued relief to Afghan refugees living in Pakistan. Afghanistan’s new administration remains suspicious as Pakistan’s past role in supporting the Taleban remained the source of most ill-feeling. Afghanistan periodically accuses Pakistan of not doing enough to suppress the remnants of the Taleban, many of whom are based in north-western Pakistan.

To be continued...