Situation in Pakistan tenuous: US

WASHINGTON - Government corruption and the rise in the Taliban’s influence are leading Afghanistan in a “downward spiral”, a classified US intelligence report says.

The report casts doubt on the ability of the Afghan government to counter the resurgent Taliban, officials familiar with the document told The New York Times on Thursday.

The report is a nearly completed version of a National Intelligence Estimate, scheduled to be finished after the Nov 4 elections, the Times reported Thursday. US officials said intelligence agencies also were developing an assessment on Pakistan, also available after next month’s election.

Because of the bleak assessment, the White House has begun a review of Afghanistan policy, to be completed in the next few weeks, The Washington Post reported.

The Afghanistan report cited gains in building the country’s national army, officials said. However, it outlined the destabilising impact of the booming heroin trade, concern that Afghan President Hamid Karzai can’t or won’t stem government corruption as well as cross-border attacks by militants in Pakistan’s tribal areas.