The stocky, bearded man they call the Subidar is an encyclopedia of the jagged mountains and insular tribes here along Pakistan’s northwestern border. As a retired career officer now on contract to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency, he would be just the man to enforce his government’s declared policy: to stop Taliban and allied guerrillas from crossing into Afghanistan to attack US troops. But the Subidar’s mission is just the opposite, say US, Afghan and Pakistani sources.

Working from his home in this village, and reporting to the ISI office in the nearby town of Chitral, he recruits and organises guerrillas to make those attacks, sources say. In Afghan districts just over the border, guerrilla attacks have escalated this year, killing at least six US soldiers since June. President Pervez Musharraf and senior Bush administration officials say Musharraf is America’s best friend in the war against al-Qaeda and its Islamic extremist allies in this region. But the case of the Subidar appears to illustrate assertions by many scholars that Pakistan is deeply divided and playing a double role.

Its ruling army denied any knowledge of the Subidar, whose name is being withheld because he could not be reached directly to comment. While Musharraf is allied with Washington, many in his army and security services are wedded to the Taliban, say independent analysts including Boston University’s Husain Haqqani.

Parts of the ISI, the army and political and religious elites form a support network to help the Taliban and allied guerrillas recruit and train fighters, raise money and infiltrate Afghanistan, the analysts say.

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