LONDON, Oct 8: The commander of Nato troops in Afghanistan is to fly to Islamabad on Monday and confront President Pervez Musharraf over Taliban operations in Pakistan, The Sunday Times newspaper said.
Britain’s Lieutenant-General David Richards planned to meet Gen Musharraf in Quetta where deposed Taliban leader Mullah Omar is said to be living openly, and ask for his arrest, said the British weekly.
Gen Richards will try to persuade President Musharraf to rein in his military intelligence service, which the Nato commander believes is training Taliban fighters to attack British forces.
He says he has videos and satellite pictures of Taliban training camps inside Pakistan, according to The Sunday Times.
He has also compiled the addresses of other senior Taliban figures.
President Musharraf has publicly acknowledged “a Taliban problem on the Pakistan side of the border”, Gen Richards said, according to the paper.
“We’ve got to accept that the Pakistan government is not omnipotent and it isn’t easy but it has to be done and we’re working very hard on it.
“I’m very confident that the Pakistan government’s intent is clear and they will be delivering on it.”
Nato commanders from five countries who have troops stationed in Afghanistan — the United States, Britain, Canada, Denmark and the Netherlands — are demanding their governments get tough with Pakistan over its support for the Taliban militia, The Daily Telegraph reported on Friday.—AFP
