Taliban's Quetta 'shura' tops US agenda for talks with Pak: NYT

New York, Sep.25 (ANI): The issue of the Taliban's Quetta based leadership council, or shura, is now at the top of the Obama administration's agenda in its meetings with Pakistani officials at the sidelines of the 64th United Nations General Assembly, The New York Times reported.

The newspaper reported that top US officials believe that senior Taliban commanders were using the terror sanctuaries based in Pakistan's lawless tribal region along the fghan border to carry out attacks against the US led allied forces in Afghanistan.

With the recent string of attacks which have killed several troops from Italy and Germany, the issue of Taliban leadership council, in Quetta (Balochistan) has increased concerns for the Obama Administration.

It is worth mentioning here that Washington has long complained that senior Taliban leaders based in Quetta, provide money, military supplies and assist their counterparts in southern Afghanistan with strategic planning.

It may be noted that the majority of the US led allied forces about 68,000 troops are deployed in south Afghanistan itself.

However, the US forces have been surprised by the stiff resistance being offered by the Taliban in the region.

The newspaper further reported that even after Islamabad's denials, US officials believe that the Pakistani military and the ISI is lending covert support to the Taliban resistance in Afghanistan.

A report based on the assessment of the US led 'war on terror' by General Stanley McChrystal, the top military commander in Afghanistan, also highlights the increasing clout of the Taliban even after eight years of continuous struggle.

In his report General McChrystal has underlined how efficiently Taliban chief Mullah Omar is running his 'shadow government' in Afghanistan.

"Mullah Omar has appointed shadow governors in most provinces of Afghanistan, levies taxes, establishes Islamic courts there and conducts a formal review of its military campaign each winter," the newspaper quoted the report, as saying. (ANI)