by Abdul Hadi Mayar

    ISLAMABAD, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- As Pakistan Army is engaged in a bloody conflict against hardcore Taliban and al-Qaida militants in South Waziristan tribal region, Islamabad has alleged that the insurgents are receiving arms supplies from the neighboring Afghanistan.

    The allegation was made by Pakistan Army spokesman, Major General Athar Abbas while addressing a news conference in Islamabad on Monday.

A Pakistani soldier carries a weapon which the military say was recovered from a cave in the South Waziristan region in this image taken from a video released by the Pakistani military on October 21, 2009. Pakistani helicopter gunships attacked Taliban bases near the Afghan border on October 21, 2009 as the army urged NATO forces to seal the frontier to stem cross-border movement of militants. Pakistani forces launched an offensive to wrest control of the lawless South Waziristan region on October 17, 2009 after militants rocked the country with a string of bomb and suicide attacks in recent weeks, killing more than 150 people.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    He said the militants received arms, ammunition, and espionage equipment from across the Afghan side of the border.

    Pakistan Army launched an intensive three-pronged attack against Taliban and al-Qa'ida militants in South Waziristan region along the Afghan border Saturday.

    Pakistan army had earlier carried out two operations in South Waziristan in 2004 and 2007 both of which had ended in a peace agreement with the Taliban militants.

    This time, the civilian government and military forces are determined to make a decisive strike against the insurgents, who carried out a number of terrorist strikes across Pakistan.

    As U.S.-led forces are facing a fierce Taliban resurgence in the neighboring Afghanistan, Pakistan is since long under severe international pressure to launch a crackdown against militants in the restive border region.

    In past, U.S. Predator drones have carried out dozens of missile strikes in Waziristan, killing a number of senior Al-Qa'ida and Taliban leaders.

A heavy machine gun is seen during a battle between Pakistani security forces and Taliban in the South Waziristan region in this image taken from a video released by the Pakistani military on October 21, 2009. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    U.S. officials have even been mulling direct military actions in these areas.

    U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, while opposing US NATO Commander General Staley McChrystal's call for addition 40,000 US forces in Afghanistan, recently insisted on concentrating on Pakistani border areas which, he said, were used by the Taliban as a base for their activities in Afghanistan.

    For its part, Pakistan said the militants operating in its border areas are receiving material support from their Afghan counterparts.

    Pakistan's Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman General Tariq Majid, while talking with Britain's Chief of Defense Staff, Sir Jock Stirrup on phone, urged NATO forces on Tuesday to seal the frontier to stem cross-border movement of militants.

    He called on NATO troops to seal the border "to prevent cross-border movement and flow of weapons."

    According to a Pakistan army statement, the general "called for synchronization of effort on both sides and sharing of real-time intelligence with reference to the ongoing operations."

    Earlier this week, Pakistani media alleged that as Pakistan army launched operation in South Waziristan, NATO forces in the adjacent Afghan areas vacated their check posts, leaving the space open for Afghan Taliban to come to the rescue of their Pakistani counterparts.

    Pakistan Army spokesman said the security forces have erected barbed wire and spread landmines along the border to check border-crossing by the militants.

    Neither Afghan, nor American or NATO officials have so far responded to either of the charges made by the Pakistani officials and media.

    U.S. defense secretary, Robert Gates told reporters on board his plane while proceeding to Tokyo on Tuesday that the United States fully supported Pakistan army's operation in South Waziristan.

    However, no matching effort has so far been witnessed on the Afghan side of the border to suggest that NATO forces are taking a collaborated action against the militants, whom both sides describe as common enemies.