The Taliban in Afghanistan are being directly assisted by Pakistani security services, according to a secret Nato report.

北约的一份秘密报告显示，巴基斯坦安保部门直接援助着阿富汗的塔利班势力。

The leaked report, derived¹ from thousands of interrogations（审问） , claims the Taliban remain defiant²（挑衅的） and have wide support among the Afghan people.

A BBC correspondent says the report is painful reading for international forces and the Afghan government.

A Pakistani foreign ministry³ official has called the accusations⁴（控告，指责） "frivolous⁵".

"We are committed to non-interference in Afghanistan," the unnamed senior official told Reuters.

The report alleges⁶ that Pakistan knows the locations of senior Taliban leaders.

"We have long been concerned about ties between elements of the ISI and some extremist networks," said US Pentagon spokesman Captain John Kirby, adding that the US Defence Department had not yet seen the report.

'Informational'

The BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Kabul says the report - on the state of the Taliban - fully⁷ exposes for the first time the relationship between the Pakistani intelligence service (ISI) and the Taliban.

The report is based on material from 27,000 interrogations with more than 4,000 captured Taliban, al-Qaeda and other foreign fighters and civilians⁸.

It notes: "Pakistan's manipulation of the Taliban senior leadership continues unabatedly". It says that Pakistan is aware of the locations of senior Taliban leaders.

The report states: "As this document is derived directly from insurgents⁹ it should be considered informational and not necessarily analytical¹⁰."

Despite Nato's strategy to secure the country with Afghan forces, the secret document details widespread collaboration¹¹ between the insurgents and Afghan police and military.

Lt Col Jimmie Cummings, a spokesman for Nato's International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) in Afghanistan, said the document was "a classified internal document that is not meant to be released to the public".

"It is a matter of policy that documents that are classified are not discussed under any circumstances," he said.

The report also depicts¹² the depth of continuing support among the Afghan population for the Taliban, our correspondent says.

It paints a picture of al-Qaeda's influence diminishing but the Taliban's influence increasing, he adds.