VOA标准英语2008年-US Implicates Pakistani Agents in Kabul Bomb At

U.S. officials are accusing Pakistan's primary intelligence service of helping¹ to carry out last month's bomb attack on India's embassy in Afghanistan. U.S. newspapers reported that American intelligence agencies claim they have evidence linking Pakistani agents to the attackers. VOA's Barry Newhouse reports from Islamabad.

Pakistan's shadowy Inter-Services Intelligence directorate, or ISI, has been accused before of planning attacks in India and Afghanistan. But Friday's news reports appear to be the first time that U.S. officials have publicly stated they have evidence of Pakistani involvement.

The New York Times and the Washington Post newspapers report that U.S. officials say U.S. intelligence agencies intercepted² communications between militants⁴ and what they say were Pakistani government agents about the July 7 bombing that killed 41 people at India's embassy in Kabul.

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry⁵ spokesman Mohammad Sadiq told VOA that no evidence has been provided to the Pakistani government.

"Nobody has given us any proof," he said. "We have said if there is any proof of Pakistan's involvement we would like to see the proof of that because merely alleging⁶ something means nothing."

The ISI has had strong links to Afghan militant³ groups, particularly during the Soviet⁷ occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s. After the September 11 terrorist attacks, the Pakistani military officially turned against its Taliban allies in Afghanistan and supported the U.S.-led invasion.

But analysts⁸ say some Pakistani military officers and intelligence agents could harbor sympathies for their former allies.

Pakistan's Information Minister Sherry Rehman says routing-out militant sympathizers from ISI ranks has been a clear government policy. She tells VOA she believes those officials have been "pretty much" removed from their positions.

"As far as I know, and as far as we are informed, the army has worked very hard to root any such elements out," said Rehman. "Because as you know they were exposed to a very long engagement with the Afghan resistance and those were really jihadis of a particular hardcore kind."

A spokesman for Pakistan's army said the military and the government would like to investigate if they are shown the evidence behind the US allegations.

The allegations come on the eve of a scheduled meeting in Colombo, Sri Lanka between Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The two are among the heads of government attending the summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.

Tensions between India and Pakistan, as well as the deteriorating⁹ relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan have threatened to overshadow the summit.

India has recently warned that the peace process between the two, longtime rivals was "under stress." But following a meeting with Indian foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday in Sri Lanka, Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told reporters "a lot of steam has been let out of the pressure cooker."

Earlier in the week, India had accused Pakistani troops of crossing the Line of Control where a cease-fire has been in place for eight years. Pakistan has rejected the claim.

 

 

1 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

2 intercepted   

拦截( intercept的过去式和过去分词 )； 截住； 截击； 拦阻

参考例句：

• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave the hotel. 他正要离开旅馆，记者们把他拦截住了。
• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave by the rear entrance. 他想从后门溜走，记者把他截住了。

3 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

4 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 alleging   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His reputation was blemished by a newspaper article alleging he'd evaded his taxes. 由于报上一篇文章声称他曾逃税，他的名誉受到损害。
• This our Peeress declined as unnecessary, alleging that her cousin Thornhill's recommendation would be sufficient. 那位贵人不肯，还说不必，只要有她老表唐希尔保荐就够了。

7 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

8 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

9 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。