News
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
ISI chief leaves for US in patch-up trip
ISLAMABAD: Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha left for Washington on Monday to visit his counterpart at America’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in an attempt to patch up an alliance considered crucial to winning the war against al Qaeda and Taliban. Pasha’s visit comes at a time when US-Pakistan joint intelligence operations have been disrupted over a series of disputes, particularly the case of Raymond Davis, a CIA contractor, who shot dead two Pakistanis in Lahore in January. Pakistan held Davis despite US insistence that he enjoyed diplomatic immunity and released him last month after the families of the dead men were paid “blood money”. According to sources, the ISI director general would also raise the issue of drone attacks in Pakistan’s Tribal Areas with CIA Director Panetta. The ISI offered no details on Pasha’s trip which also comes days after the government extended his tenure for the second time to ensure continuity. Pasha is generally seen as getting on well with his US counterparts, but he has faced embarrassment after families of the victims of the Mumbai 2008 attacks named him and other ISI operatives in three lawsuits filed before a court in New York. daily times monitor/reuters
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk