Spy chiefs of Pakistan, Afghanistan hold talks

ISLAMABAD: The chief of Afghanistan’s spy agency met his Pakistani counterpart here on Thursday in what is being described as a first step towards bridging the trust gap between the two intelligence agencies and exploring the prospects of cooperation in fighting terrorism.



The meeting of the head of Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security, Masoud Andrabi with Inter-Services Intelligence director general Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar was the first high-level engagement between the two agencies since Afghan authorities succumbed to domestic political pressure and shelved ISI-NDS cooperation agreement weeks after it was signed in last May.

The meeting that continued for about two hours was facilitated by the US, while Chinese officials attended as observers.

There was no announcement about the meeting either from the Inter-Ser­vices Public Relations or ISI.
A source, who closely followed the meeting, said: “It was a step not a breakthrough.” He said the very fact that the meeting took place was a major development.

Tension between ISI and NDS is believed to be at the root of most of the problems in relations between the two neighbours which for most of the past decade and a half have been uneasy.

The intelligence dialogue has begun at a time when Pakistan, as part of a quadrilateral initiative, is trying to help revive the Afghan reconciliation process that was suspended after the disclosure about the death of Taliban leader Mullah Omar.

Afghan leaders have lately become conscious of Pakistan’s role in making the reconciliation effort successful. Afghanistan’s Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, who is visiting India, told journalists in Delhi that “Pakistan is the country which can do the most in terms of influencing the Taliban’s attitude. I think Pakistan has the most influence.”

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