A leading analyst said the Taliban was raising what he termed huge amounts of money through Islamic elements in the Persian Gulf states. The analyst said this comprised a leading source of support for the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"The problem is people don't know where the money goes," Haroun Mir, director of the Center for Research and Policy Studies, said. "The network of charities has become very complex."

The assessment has been confirmed by several officials in Gulf Cooperation Council states. They said Gulf Arab countries were working with Western allies to help track and block charities that raise or transfer money to Al Qaida and the Taliban.

"There is a serious problem about charity networks," Bahrain Foreign Minister Khalid Bin Ahmed Al Khalifa said. "They collect money from mosques, from people who want to help poor Muslims all over the world. The vast majority are genuine charities, but the problem is there is no body to govern their work.

Mir said Kuwait and Saudi Arabia marked the largest sources of funds to Taliban. He said between $150 million and $200 million in funds classified as charity have already arrived in Pakistan and distributed to Taliban commanders.

GCC officials said they were examining ways to tighten supervision over charities. They said this would include new regulations on licensing and uniform standards adopted throughout all six GCC members.