Pak military, ISI 'hand-in-glove' with Afghan Taliban in fight against NATO forces

Islamabad - Pakistan's security services are directly helping the Taliban in Afghanistan, a secret NATO report has claimed.

The leaked report, which exposes for the first time the relationship between the Pakistani intelligence service (ISI) and the insurgent group, alleges that Pakistan knows the locations of senior Taliban leaders.

According to The BBC, the report is based on material from 27,000 interrogations with over 4,000 captured Taliban, al-Qaeda and other foreign fighters and civilians.

The report states that 'Pakistan's manipulation of the Taliban senior leadership continues unabatedly.'

"As this document is derived directly from insurgents it should be considered informational and not necessarily analytical," the report added.

According to the report, rifles, pistols and heavy weapons have been sold by Afghan security forces in bazaars in Pakistan.

The report also depicts the depth of continuing support among the Afghan population for the Taliban.

"Afghan civilians frequently prefer Taliban governance over the Afghan government, usually as a result of government corruption," the document said.

The report suggested that al-Qaeda's influence was diminishing, but the Taliban's increasing.

The report has evidence that the Taliban are purposely hastening NATO's withdrawal by deliberately reducing their attacks in some areas and then initiating a comprehensive hearts-and-minds campaign.