News
Saturday, June 11, 2011
CIA chief in Pakistan to ‘repair ties’ISLAMABAD: CIA Director Leon Panetta met over dinner with the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief and army head on Friday for talks on how to repair ties between the two countries that were fractured by the American raid that killed Osama bin Laden, a Pakistani and an American official said.
Panetta’s visit was his first to Pakistan since the unilateral US operation on May 2, which killed the al Qaeda leader in Abbottabad, triggering an angry backlash by the powerful military. It is likely to be his last before he becomes the next US defence secretary.
American officials have said they want to rebuild a relationship vital to their fight against al Qaeda and their efforts to wind down the war in Afghanistan, but progress has been slow amid suspicions by some in Washington that elements within the security establishment in Pakistan were sheltering bin Laden. ap
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk