Afghanistan defends terror intelligence given to Pakistan

A rift between Afghanistan and Pakistan deepened today when the Afghan government insisted its intelligence about Taliban and al-Qaida fugitives allegedly hiding in Pakistan was accurate, after Pakistan’s leader said it was outdated.

Karim Rahimi, a spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai, said his government would present Islamabad with further intelligence about the militants’ whereabouts and that it was “hopeful that measures will be taken”.

“Afghanistan provided very strong and accurate intelligence,” Rahimi told a Kabul press conference in response to a claim by Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf that the information was old.