New York: Pakistan Army still appears to be helping Taliban in Afghanistan as they prepare for a major confrontation in coming spring, a media report said.

American intelligence officials possess satellite photos that "purportedly" show Pakistani Army trucks picking up Taliban troops fleeing back across the border after a failed attack.

After the US confronted Pakistani officials with the photographs, signs of visible Pakistani aid to the rebels ceased, 'Time' magazine said.

It quoted US and Afghan officials as saying that the US has also provided Islamabad with specific locations of two-dozen suspected Taliban hideouts in the tribal badlands.

Afghan security officials, 'Time' said, complain that their Pakistani counterparts continue to tolerate and even encourage militancy by the Taliban.

At the highest levels, Pakistan's establishment remains "nostalgic" for the Taliban, says a Western diplomat.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has cooperated in the hunt for al-Qaeda's top officials but has shown less enthusiasm for rooting out the Taliban.

Until Pakistan's security services stop sheltering Taliban leaders, US officials say, Afghanistan will never be free from the threat of their return.