Afghan army chief: ‘Pakistan controls Taliban’

“If [Pakistan] put pressure on [Taliban] leadership or convinced them what to be done, that can help a lot,” he added.

A Nato report leaked in April said Pakistan was aware that Taliban leaders were taking refuge within its borders.

But Pakistan consistently denies wielding influence over the Taliban, saying many militants have based themselves across the border in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Kunar, from where they are known to have carried out attacks in north-western Pakistan.

“The allegations that Pakistan ‘controls’ the Taliban and has ‘unleashed’ them on Afghanistan have no basis,” a foreign ministry spokesman said.

“We reject them categorically. Pakistan has exercised extreme restraint in the face of highly provocative language used by the Afghan civil and military officials over the last few months, not to mention some totally fabricated accusations.”

The spokesman said that such comments reflected “insincerity” on the part of some elements in the Afghan government and that Pakistan was fully supportive of the reconciliation process.

“Pakistan will not be deterred in its efforts to support the international community’s efforts to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan,” he said.

Securing the long, porous border between the two countries has long posed a major challenge to the authorities.