ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Stung by U.S. allegations that elements in its premier spy agency colluded with Islamic militants in the July bombing of the Indian Embassy in Afghanistan, Pakistan on Friday conceded there were “probably” Taliban sympathizers within the ranks of its powerful intelligence establishment.
The Pakistani government, which denied the reports of involvement in the bombing as soon as they surfaced, reiterated that there was no evidence that members of its Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence had aided Taliban militants in the attack in the Afghan capital, Kabul, which left about 60 people dead.
But by Friday evening, senior Pakistani officials were offering a more nuanced response to U.S. intelligence officials’ allegations of ISI complicity in the July 7 bombing, which were first reported Thursday by The New York Times.
“There is no proof of ISI involvement” in the attack in Kabul, said Information Minister Sherry Rehman, who is close to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and accompanied him on a recent official visit to Washington.
But she added: “There are probably still individuals within the ISI who are ideologically sympathetic to the Taliban and act on their own in ways that are not in convergence with the policies and interests of the government of Pakistan. . . . We need to identify these people and weed them out.”
Earlier, Pakistan’s military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, called the report “unfounded, baseless and malicious.” He said the ISI was a highly disciplined organization that had played a key role in combating Islamic militancy.
U.S. officials, however, think that the ISI has financed, supported and possibly trained members of the Taliban-linked extremist network headed by Afghan tribal warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani and that his network was responsible for the embassy blast and other attacks.
