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KABUL: A Taliban official has disclosed group’s secret ties with Pakistani intelligence agency (ISI) in a letter to media.
“I was invited to the Qatar’s peace meeting by the Emirate. Unfortunately, when I arrived in Qatar, the situation was worse than Quetta, Pakistan as the ISI has still had its active role among the Taliban’s representatives. Mullah Baradar, head of the Taliban Qatar-based political office was in the front but behind the walls it was all up to ISI, who have been involved in every step and was the decision maker of the Taliban’s office. The Taliban representatives were even competing with each other to be in favor of the ISI,” the letter reads, without identifying the writer.
It reads that the writer had seen that ISI had open access to every member of the group’s political office and Taliban representatives were seen walking freely inside the Pakistani Embassy in Qatar. “Another issue I have witnessed is that members of the office were spying for ISI against each other. In return for some scholarships and Pakistani ID cards, ISI has appointed the purest people of our frontier as its spy figures.”
The letter further reads that the Taliban members were not free of corruption and fraud.
It said that Taliban representatives had brought their relatives with themselves and appointed them in the Qatar office.
“Amir Khan Mottaqi, who has a great influence on the ISI, is one of the main elements of ISI and is considered as the defender of the ISI. I arrived in Qatar one day before the peace deal was signed. We were on our way to an invitation party when Mullah Baradar received a phone call. I could hear the person on the phone telling him to tell the Qatar officials to invite ISI Generals, Faiz and Hassan to the ceremony. Baradar then called the office, discussing the invitation of ISI Generals; the conversation lasted until the party began; where Baradar asked the Qatari officials about invitation of the Generals but the Qatari officials assured him that it had not been an intelligence meeting but a political meeting and that the presence of Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Pakistan Foreign Minister could attend on behalf of other officials from his country.
The letter says that the peace deal was first supposed to be signed by Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, but the ISI replaced him with Baradar as signatory.
“About a couple of hours before the peace deal signing, Maulavi Shahabuddin Attal told the reporters that the deal would not be signed by Baradar. But Baradar received a phone call from Islamabad and was told that Stanikzai should not sign the agreement as he had a verbal dispute with ISI General Asim and that he was earlier in Afghan military and was trained in India. So, Baradar called Stanikzai and said that he himself would sign the agreement. Stanikzai was smart, so he accepted the offer.”
Then the Qatari officials and Taliban’s ceremonials came and briefed Baradar about the tomorrow morning’s summit. The Qatari officials said that before the peace ceremony, a guider would come to his room and would lead you to the Salon, and he would be greeting people on the front line, where senior officials would be set, including US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Although, the Qatari ceremonial had been waiting nearby his door and asking him to participate in the ceremony, Baradar had been waiting for the Taliban’s in charge. After he called the in charge, heresponded, “oh sorry I totally forgot, come soon, people are waiting for you.”
When he entered the room, he didn’t find the trash can to throw out his snuff. He was worried Stanikzai had led him to the stage. The guests stand up to greet him but ignored them all. Then Stanikzai greeted the guests.
He then told us that he was absolutely concerned and anxious by signing the deal.
Two days after the peace deal, head of ISI came and congratulated Baradar.”
