Intelligence Chief Calls on Tribal Elders to Discourage Insurgency

Afghanistan's intelligence chief called on Pakistan's tribal chiefs to prevent boys from learning to be insurgents at the religious schools throughout the country.

Head of National Directorate of Security Rahmatullah Nabil said Tuesday that some of the more than 5000 religious schools in Pakistan were teaching boys to be suicide attackers.

"It is my message to all Pakistan's tribal chiefs to not allow their young to learn insurgency. Instead they should learn computers programs," he said during his address to the Afghan Senate.

"We want tribal chiefs to not allow their boys to join with the Taliban," he said.

Nabil encouraged more Taliban to come to Afghanistan for peace talks, and repeated reports that 25 Taliban members who had been attempting to join Afghanistan's reconciliation programme, including Mullah Ismail, had been killed by Pakistan's intelligence agency.

Nabil warned the international community that as long as there were insurgent hubs on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, Afghanistan's war would continue.

He laid some blame on the Afghan government, saying that not enough investment had been made in intelligence services.