Portrait of an Al Qaeda camp

But those who have spent time inside the camps say the fighters have made only superficial attempts to appear like Afghans. All wear the traditional baggy trousers and shirt, but most drink bottled water and eat cookies, crackers, and other items from abroad, rather than local food.

The men of Sabila village may be lonely by Pashtun standards, but they do receive a number of visits, including politicians from the top Pakistani religious parties that now control the state of Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP), which includes the tribal areas along the Afghan border. Members of Kashmiri terrorist groups such as Jaish-e Mohammad, Hizbul Mujahideen, Al Badr Mujahideen, Harkatul Mujahideen, and the Afghan-based Islamist party, Hizb-i Islami have also visited.

"Usually on Fridays, the day of prayer, lots of people come to meet the fighters," says Ahmed Shah, an Afghan shopkeeper in Asadabad who changed his name for protection. "Top government leaders like Qazi Hussein Ahmed or Fazlur Rahman (two leaders of religious parties that govern NWFP) don't come directly, but their people come to visit."

For the record, leaders of the six religious parties that govern NWFP, the so-called Muttahida e Majlis e Awam, deny giving safe haven to terrorist groups, but broadly oppose any Pakistani support for the US war against the Taliban or Al Qaeda.

Pakistani authorities say their support for the war on terror is unwavering, at least on the federal level. "The moment Pakistani forces get information, they will take action if the information is credible," says General Qureshi, the spokesman. "As of today, the army and the Border Scouts and the Pakistani security forces, as well as the intelligence agencies, are all already in the tribal areas, so there is no question of moving forces from outside and tipping off Al Qaeda with our movements."

"There is not a single case where information has been given and action has not been taken," he adds.

But at the Nawa Pass border checkpoint, where Afghan and Pakistani flags flutter just a few meters apart, border-security chief Gul Adad says his Pakistani counterparts are working with Al Qaeda.

"I don't know about the politics, but I do know the Pakistanis are supporting and backing Al Qaeda secretly," he says, sitting on the bare floor of his post, and feeding wood into a stove to keep warm. "Openly, the Pakistanis talk against Al Qaeda, but at night, they give them safe haven and even guide them to fire missiles and rockets on the US base."

Pointing to a ridgeline footpath that overlooks his checkpost, he adds, "That is the road they take, and it goes all the way down to a hilltop just across the river from the US base.

"We're on the front lines here. On this side [in Afghanistan], the sentiments are against us. But on that side, not only are the sentiments against us, but there are men with weapons. "

For Nasser, who gives his true name despite the danger, the front line is within his village, as close as his own neighbors.

Speaking of himself and Mr. Shah, he says, "If we give information and they know about it, we will never be able to go back to our village again. But I hope you will tell the US forces about Sabila, because it's time for the foreign fighters to go."

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