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Pakistan admits to Taleban spies | Pakistan admits to Taleban spies |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Pakistan's government has said it needs to purge Taleban sympathisers from within the ranks of the country's intelligence service - the ISI. | Pakistan's government has said it needs to purge Taleban sympathisers from within the ranks of the country's intelligence service - the ISI. |
The statement comes amid claims from the US and India of links between the ISI and Islamic extremists. | The statement comes amid claims from the US and India of links between the ISI and Islamic extremists. |
Analysts say it is the first time that the Pakistan government has made such an admission. | Analysts say it is the first time that the Pakistan government has made such an admission. |
US officials have claimed that spies in the ISI helped plan the recent suicide attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul. | US officials have claimed that spies in the ISI helped plan the recent suicide attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul. |
Pakistani government spokeswoman Sherry Rehman said "individuals" in the ISI were probably acting on their own and going against official policy. | Pakistani government spokeswoman Sherry Rehman said "individuals" in the ISI were probably acting on their own and going against official policy. |
She said Pakistan needed to "identify these people and weed them out". | She said Pakistan needed to "identify these people and weed them out". |
Supporting militants | |
The BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan, in Islamabad, says it is the first time a member of the Pakistan government has talked about the ISI in this manner. | The BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan, in Islamabad, says it is the first time a member of the Pakistan government has talked about the ISI in this manner. |
In the past, President Pervez Musharraf has said that former intelligence officials - including those from the ISI - have given support to militants but he was careful to stress that they did not include serving personnel, our correspondent says. | |
Ms Rehman said there was no proof of ISI involvement in last month's bombing of India's embassy in Kabul. | |
US officials had made the allegations - based on intercepted communications - in briefings to the New York Times and the Washington Post. | |
The BBC contacted Pakistan's army spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas but he would not respond to Ms Rehman's comments. |