When the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 1996, UK officials knew Pakistan was directly aiding it, but continued to arm the government in Islamabad. British policy aided Osama Bin Laden who was then setting up his terrorist infrastructure in Afghanistan.
In October 1996, UK prime minister John Major’s chief aide, Edward Oakden, wrote to the Foreign Office for advice.
The extremist Taliban movement in Afghanistan had just seized the capital, Kabul, in the country’s brutal civil war.
Oakden asked: “How much do we know of Pakistani support for the Taliban?”
He added: “My impression is that, at least until very recently, Pakistan has been one of the Taliban’s principal suppliers/supporters”.
The question was certainly relevant. The UK and Pakistan had long been close military allies and Britain was a regular supplier of arms to the country’s military.
— source markcurtis.info | Mark Curtis | Aug 19, 2023