KABUL (SW): Despite assurances by the spy agency National Directorate for Security, many Afghans are deeply skeptical about an intelligence sharing pact-that was quietly inked recently- with neighboring Pakistan, which has long been seen as infiltrator in Afghan affairs.
The Afghan spy agency on Monday (May 19, 2015) confirmed it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Pakistan’s the ISI to share intelligence against terrorists on their respective sides of the border. Hasibullah Siddiqui, the NDS spokesman told reporters in Kabul both the intelligence agencies would share intelligence gathering, technical information and inform each other about possible security threats under the agreement.
The official said a similar agreement in 2008-9 could not yield positive results as areas of cooperation between the two spy networks remained ambiguous in the earlier agreement.
“The recent agreement had clearly identified common areas of cooperation in the fight against terrorism, averting possible threats and exchange of intelligence information”, he said.
In the wake of the longstanding Durand line issue (border dispute), decades-long alleged interference in Afghanistan, and support for the Taliban, many Afghan parliamentarians and political commentators are against associating too hopes with Pakistan.
On Monday, many Wolesi Jirga (lower house) members criticized the agreement in strong words.
Rahmatullah Nabil, NDS Chief and Mohammad Hanif Atmar, the National Security Advisor were summoned by the house to come and take the lawmakers into confidence about the pact. Zahir Qadir, Deputy Speaker, threatened to nullify the pact. “No such agreement has any worth unless it is ratified by the house”, he underlined.
Representatives of the Kabul government and the Taliban did have an informal meeting in Doha, Qatar earlier this month but that has not slowed down militancy in the war-torn country.
According to the Ministry of Defense, ANA is busy fighting Taliban on at least 21 fronts in the country. Groups of foreign militants (Chechen, Uzbek) have intensified their attacks in the relatively peaceful northern and western parts of the country during this fighting season.
ENDS
