Leaks may raise tension between U.S., Pakistan

KABUL, Afghanistan —

Pakistani officials reacted angrily Monday to the publication of a trove of U.S. military documents that suggested Pakistan's spy agency collaborated with the Taliban, saying the United States is using their country as a scapegoat for its failing war.

Diplomats and officials dismissed the reports as rehashed falsehoods, but ones that could have damaging consequences for Pakistan's relations with the United States. Some expressed doubts about whether the United States could be trusted with sensitive information and questioned pledges of increased trust in Pakistan.

In a statement, the Pakistani government called the allegations, contained in more than 91,000 military documents leaked by the group WikiLeaks.org, "misplaced, skewed and contrary to the factual position on the ground." Referring to Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI), the government said, "The people of Pakistan and its security forces, including the ISI, have rendered enormous sacrifices against militancy and terrorism."

Pakistan's spy agency worked alongside the CIA to support anti-Soviet Afghan rebels in the 1980s. Some U.S. officials have long said privately that the ISI continued to back some of those fighters after they morphed into the Taliban as a bulwark against archrival India and a tool for influence in Afghanistan.

Pakistan fervently denies that, and the allegation has been a source of tension as the United States seeks to deepen relations as part of its Afghan war strategy. The revelations in the documents, the Pakistani backlash and the prospect of anger in the U.S. public could heighten those tensions.

Mohammad Sadiq, Pakistan's ambassador to Afghanistan, said in Kabul that regardless of how the documents emerged, they cast as poor a light on the Obama administration as on Pakistan.

"If the documents were stolen, it's a very big question mark ... because that creates a lot of doubt about the security of supposedly confidential information," Sadiq said. "If it's part of the official leak policy, then it must be timed."

Among Afghans, there is widespread suspicion that the ISI supports the Taliban leadership, and residents here are painfully aware of the harm wrought on civilians from insurgents and NATO forces.

President Hamid Karzai was "shocked" that "such a huge number of documents were leaked" — but not by the allegations in them, his spokesman said.

Wahid Omar said the disclosures would help increase world awareness about two issues that the Afghan government has long raised with NATO forces: Pakistan's role in fomenting the insurgency and civilian casualties.

"We have been saying this for quite a long time, that Pakistan is not honest when it comes to their cooperation in the war on terror. Now, I think it's up to the U.S. administration what to do about it," said Haroun Mir, a political analyst in Kabul. "Are they going to continue to reward bad behavior?"

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visited Pakistan last week to unveil $500 million worth of development projects, the first disbursement of a $7.5 billion, five-year aid package approved by Congress last year.

In Islamabad, Pakistan, a senior ISI official, speaking on the condition of anonymity according to agency custom, said the allegations did not sound new and they appeared to contain no concrete evidence of ISI backing for the Afghan insurgency.

The official acknowledged, however, that some of the allegations sound "very damning" and could erode support in America for the U.S. alliance with Pakistan. If the CIA does not denounce the suggestions, the official said the ISI might need to re-examine its cooperation.

Pakistani officials dismissed the disclosures that their country's spies meet and coordinate attacks with Taliban leaders. Several officials and analysts suggested the Obama administration is trying to exert pressure on their government or smear Pakistan's reputation.

Retired Lt. Gen. Hamid Gul, a former Pakistani spy chief who was repeatedly implicated in the documents, also lashed out at the allegations that he aided the Taliban attacks. Gul is accused, among other things, of directing Pakistan-based fighters to craft plans for strikes inside Afghanistan, including one meant as payback for the death of an al-Qaida operative killed by a U.S. drone attack.

Gul worked closely with the CIA's anti-Soviet campaign during his tenure from 1987 to 1989.

On Monday, he said the leaked documents should prompt Pakistan to drop its alliance with the United States. The Americans are "facing defeat in Afghanistan and to cover that, they are coming up with false allegations against Pakistan," he said. "This is a pack of lies to malign (the) Pakistan army and the ISI."