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Report: Pakistan supporting Taliban

QUETTA, Pakistan, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- There is evidence Pakistan is supporting a Taliban resurgence along the border of Afghanistan, the New York Times said Sunday.

Pakistani officials denied the allegations from Western diplomats, saying it supported U.S. and NATO forces that drove Taliban militants from control in Afghanistan in 2001, The Times said.

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But the newspaper said interviews with many residents indicate Pakistani officials are "encouraging" the Taliban.

A former Taliban commander told the newspaper he was jailed in Pakistan for refusing to fight in Afghanistan. Other former Taliban members who would not re-enlist have been arrested or killed, sources told The Times.

"The Pakistanis are actively supporting the Taliban," a Western diplomat told the newspaper.

After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States, President Pervez Musharraf said he would battle Islamic extremism in Pakistan.

But analysts told The Times Pakistani officials are preparing for the day when Western troops leave Afghanistan.

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