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US, Pakistan spies rebuild ties: Clapper
WASHINGTON: Pakistani forces have arrested five key Al-Qaida suspects at the CIA's request, including a senior operative whose name has not been made public, and also allowed US intelligence officers to question those detainees, according to US officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive strategic matters.Pakistan has also stopped demanding the CIA suspend the covert drone strikes that have damaged Al-Qaida's militant ranks in Pakistan's tribal areas, officials on both sides say - though the Pakistanis say they have simply put this on the backburner for now.
The relationship has been troubled for months, especially since the covert US raid that killed Osama bin Laden inside Pakistan in May. The raid inflamed anti-American sentiment in Pakistan and embarrassed its intelligence services, although both sides quietly said intelligence cooperation never completely stopped.
"It had reached its nadir, but now it's going in the other direction," said Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper in an interview.
"They are doing things to cooperate and be helpful," Clapper said.
For a time, Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency refused to carry out any joint operations with American intelligence officers, nor would they allow the Americans access to question militant detainees. Visas as well were hard to come by for US officials of any stripe. The breakdown in relations took on a tit-for-tat quality, with Pakistan expelling most of the US military trainers in the country, and the US cutting off several hundred million dollars in military aid. (AP)
Courtesy www.geo.tv