Washington, June 10: A leading US think-tank has said that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Frontier Corps have failed to root out Afghan insurgents based in Pakistan and some individuals from these organizations have provided direct assistance to groups like the Taliban and Haqqani network.

If Taliban sanctuary bases in Pakistan are not eliminated, the US and its NATO allies will face crippling long-term consequences in their effort to stabilize and rebuild Afghanistan, according to a RAND Corporation study.

The study, funded by the U. S. Department of Defence, finds that every successful insurgency in Afghanistan since 1979 enjoyed safe haven in neighbouring countries, and the current insurgency is no different, said the report.

“Right now, the Taliban and other groups are getting help from individuals within Pakistan's government, and until that ends, the region's long-term security is in jeopardy,” it added.

The study, “Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan,” is the latest in a series examining insurgency and counterinsurgency, and details how the US should improve its capabilities for future conflicts.

The report says that in addition to the Taliban, other insurgency groups finding refuge in Pakistan include the Haqqani network, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s radical Islamic Hezb-i-Islami organization, al Qaeda and a number of local tribes and sub-tribes.

The study finds that these insurgent groups find refuge in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas, North West Frontier Province, and Balochistan Province.

They regularly ship weapons, ammunitions and supplies into Afghanistan from Pakistan, and a number of suicide bombers have come from Afghan refugee camps based in Pakistan. (ANI)