ISI-Taliban links: US State Deptt reluctant to speak about NATO report

The US State Departments spokesperson, Victoria Nuland has said that the NATO report mentioning alleged ISI-Taliban links is a classified document and they were not ready to discuss its contents, whereas NATO/ISAF had already spoken about it to clarify the situation.This is a summary of views of detainees and what they say about the situation, so the context should be understood, she said in an apparent bid to downplay the impact of leaked report. Its a regular exercise and this report should not have come out like this, she regretted.While stopping short of answering the question about the impact of this report on the already troubled relationship, she said that the Pakistani foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar has already spoken about it quite eloquently. When asked if she was referring to FM Khars comments that these allegations are old wine in an even older bottle, Ms Nuland replied in the affirmative.Commenting on a Pentagon spokesman statement that ISI-Taliban links are nothing new and should be cut-off, the State Department spokesperson said that she could only comment on the US concerns regarding the militant groups in Pakistan generally. Secretary Clinton has already raised such issues and our concerns during her visit to Pakistan last Fall,” she said.We have to see whether we can work together and cooperate to do more against such threats, she said while assuring of the US administrations desire to get back to that exact kind of cooperation with Pakistan as soon as we can.On another question regarding the ongoing reconciliation efforts with Taliban and the visit of US special representative, Marc Grossman, she declined to answer. I am not going to comment on the specifics or discussions with Taliban or about detainees during ambassador Grossmans recent visits, she noted.- Contributed by Awais Saleem, Dunya News correspondent in Washington, DC