UK builds up intelligence in Pakistan

Guardian:

Britain is stepping up its military and intelligence presence in Pakistan to help in the fight against the Taliban and al-Qaida, Whitehall officials have told the Guardian.

About 20 "military advisers" will liaise with the Pakistani army and particularly with the Frontier Corps, an ethnic Pashtun paramilitary force on the frontline of the battle with the Taliban.

Britain will also increase the number of intelligence officers in Pakistan, according to the officials, increasing an already large MI6 presence in the country. MI5 is also in the country investigating links to suspected terrorist plotters in Britain.

The British military training programme has been operational for some time, as part of a larger American-led effort to reform the 60,000-strong Frontier Corps.

The US has posted more than 70 special forces soldiers and technical specialists in Pakistan. Last year a joint British-American team of military instructors trained about 120 senior enlisted soldiers in weapons, tactics and communications.

The effort has already borne results. A Pakistani commando unit within the Frontier Corps has used CIA-provided intelligence to kill or capture up to 60 militants, the New York Times reported this year. British officials said a new batch of trainers will be experienced officers or senior NCOs – they will not be armed.

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That is much too small a force to effectively train the Frontier Corps, much less the Pakistan army. Certainly the more intelligence that can be obtained in Pakistan the better, but then there is the question of whom, if anyone, will take action on the intelligence.