LONDON, Jan 22: The British defence ministry will try to ascertain if actions taken by Pakistani security agencies were pushing terrorists into Afghanistan and having a detrimental or positive effect on the security situation in the region. According to the January 17 minutes of the Defence Committee of House of Commons, the MPs asked Martin Howard, Director- General for Operational Policy in the Defence Ministry, if the actions taken by the Pakistan government to squeeze the Taliban and militants of the Harkat Jihad Islami on their side of the border were having a detrimental or a positive effect on the security situation in Afghanistan.

“It is possible but I have not seen any evidence of that. However, perhaps I could go back and check and see if we have got any material which we could share with the committee,” said Mr Howard.

Mr Howard, who was accompanied by Air Vice-Marshal Chris Nickols, also the assistant chief of defence staff operations, told the committee that the Pakistani authorities and army were “actively” engaged in pursuing Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups.

He rejected the allegations levelled by Afghanistan that Pakistan was pushing terrorists into Afghanistan and said the Pakistan-Afghanistan border was porous and it was easy for all sorts of people to move backwards and forwards across parts of that border. There were issues about smuggling and narcotics and within that there might be an issue about terrorism, he added.

Mr Howard described the security situation in Afghanistan as ‘stable but fragile’ and said the emerging trend of suicide bombings was a matter of concern.

MP Mike Hancock challenged his contention and said 1,200 civilian deaths in six months and 900 military or police deaths in the ongoing insurgency and a resurgence of the Taliban in certain areas could not be described as stable.

Answering a question, Mr Howard told the committee that the authorities were trying to analyse the causes of increase in the number of suicide bombings and termed it a worrying trend in Afghanistan.

He said one analysis suggested it was “a deliberate change of tactic by the Taliban from conventional confrontation with the coalition troops in which they have sustained a very large number of casualties.

Mr Howard and Mr Nickols also answered questions about plans for deployment of British and Nato troops in Afghanistan.