Ambassador Qazi wrote a letter to Christian Science Monitor in response to an article published by the newspaper on Dec 11. Christian Science Monitor published the letter in its issue of Dec 18

Quote

Regarding your Dec 11 article, "Where Taliban go to find warm beds and recruits": From interviews with a few Taliban activists who seem only too ready to disclose their alleged modus operandi, the article implies a general picture of official connivance and support for the Taliban. But the Taliban are no friends of Pakistan.

The overwhelming majority of attacks on Coalition/Afghan forces in Afghanistan originated from Afghanistan.

Crossing the Afghan-Pakistani border is no cakewalk. On one side are US patrols and Afghan forces and on the other are Pakistan's border-security forces. These two forces have institutionalized their cooperation and information sharing. They cooperate in .hammer and anvil. operations to prevent any insurgents or miscreants from crossing the border.

The border is almost 1,500 miles long, and passes through some of the most difficult terrain in the world. Improving the interdiction capabilities of the Pakistani border-security forces is still a work in progress. Border security is a federal responsibility, not a provincial one. Moreover, the provincial government in Balochistan has no interest in destabilizing its own province by lending support to cross-border insurgency.

Many afghan refugees remain in Pakistan. Some may have a degree of sympathy for the Taliban, especially in view of their perception of the current situation in Afghanistan. Some might even be given to bragging about being activists or having met Mullah Omar for instructions. Real activists, however, are more likely to shun the international media rather than to court it.

Ashraf Jehangir Qazi
Ambassador of Pakistan

Unquote