Pakistan vows to 'weed out' pro-Taliban agents

'Tacit' policy of cooperation
The U.S. counterterrorism official, who agreed to discuss the issue only if not quoted by name, said there is particular concern about support for the network of Jalaluddin Haqqani, a jihadi commander wanted by the U.S. military.

The Times report cited American officials as saying the embassy attack was probably carried out by Haqqani's network.

Talat Masood, a military analyst and former Pakistani general, said he doubted the ISI had a hand in the embassy bombing because of the serious international repercussions of being caught.

However, he said it was possible there is a "tacit" policy of cooperating with militants like Haqqani, because his fighters are focused on Afghanistan and are not battling Pakistani troops.

Rahul Roy-Chaudhury of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London said individual ISI agents may be "making their own decisions" because the government hasn't formulated a clear strategy to counter militants.

He said the ISI views itself as the "final arbiter" of Pakistan's relations with Afghanistan and India and is reluctant to give up ties with militants that could be vital if NATO and the U.S. fail in Afghanistan.

"Do they want to give up the option that no one else has in terms of links to the extremists?" Roy-Chaudhury said. "It's these kind of views that make elements in the ISI different (from other spy agencies) — and more dangerous or more powerful, depending on how you see it."

Praise from Bush
This week, President Bush publicly praised visiting Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani as a strong ally against terrorism. But according to a report in Pakistan's The News daily, Bush expressed concern over ISI elements leaking information to militants and asked Gilani who was controlling the spy agency.

The report quoted Pakistan's Defense Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar.

Video   Pakistan’s ‘narco-state’ neighbor “Afghanistan under coalition watch has practically become a narco-state," said Owais Ahmad Ghani, the governor of Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province, in a recent interview about the challenges of waging the war on terror in an unruly neighborhood. NBC News Web Extra

ISI, which has been an important partner of the United States in capturing top al-Qaida suspects since 2001 — including alleged 9/11 attacks mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed — is formally under the control of Pakistan's prime minister, but all its senior officials are army officers.

On the eve of Gilani's visit to Washington, the government announced the powerful agency would now report to the interior minister — the top civilian security official — only to backtrack hours later. That confusion had led to pointed criticism of the government, which has struggled to define a coherent strategy for combating Islamic militancy since it took office after defeating supporters of President Pervez Musharraf in February elections.

The government has pursued peace deals with militants and tribes in Pakistan's volatile northwest. NATO and U.S. military complain that the talks and accompanying cease-fires have freed up militants to mount attacks across the border into Afghanistan.

American officials also worry that the lack of military pressure on militants inside Pakistan will only allow them to build their strength and give al-Qaida a chance to plot another 9/11-style strike in the West.

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