US demands list of top spy names from Pakistan

US administration demands to know identities top Pakistani intelligence operatives to determine their links with OBL.

ISLAMABAD:

The US administration has demanded the identities of some of the top Pakistani intelligence operatives as it tried to determine whether any of them had contact with Osama bin Laden, The New York Times reported late Friday.

But Pakistani security analysts believe that Washington is going a ‘little too far’ by making such a demand.

Citing unnamed US officials, the newspaper said members of the US administration had expressed deep frustration with the Pakistani military and intelligence for their refusal to identify members of the Inter-Services Intelligence, who were believed to have close ties to Bin Laden.

In particular, US officials demanded information on what is known as the ISI’s directorate, which has worked closely with militants since the days of the fight against the Soviet army in Afghanistan, the report said.

Former military and diplomatic officials, however, appeared to be divided on how Islamabad should respond to pressures Washington has been piling on the country since Bin Laden was killed in a raid by US special forces on May 2 in Abbottabad.

While the Foreign Office did not offer any reaction, there were both words of caution and calls for completely severing diplomatic ties with the US by political analysts who were once part of the country’s civilian or military bureaucracy.

“It’s hard to believe that Kayani and Pasha actually knew that Bin Laden was there,” a senior administration official said, referring to Pakistan’s Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, and the ISI Director-General Lt- Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha. But “there are degrees of knowing, and it wouldn’t surprise me if we find out that someone close to Pasha knew.”

The harshest reaction came from Brigadier (retd) Mahmoud Shah, a Peshawar-based retired security official thought to be close to the current leadership of Pakistani military.

“If they (Americans) continue to treat us like that, we should pull out of the alliance with them…we should recall our ambassador from Washington and send theirs out,” Shah said who frequently meets Gen Kayani.

“Why not … after all, it is important for the survival and safety of Pakistan,” was the answer of Shah when asked whether he seriously thinks it was possible.

“It is time to take bold initiatives … we need to tell the Americans we want to be left alone. We fight our battle here and you in Afghanistan,” he added.

But there were others who believed a fragile cooperation between Pakistan and the US was indispensable for both the troubled allies in the ‘war on terror’.

Brigadier (retd) Muhammad Saad said interdependence between the two was so strong that they couldn’t move forward without each other.

“The Americans can’t survive in Afghanistan without us and our economy and the military are largely dependent on the US help … we should continue to cooperate with each other. Our mutual interest is in it,” he added.

While advising Pakistan to accept its ‘incompetence’ in detecting Bin Laden in their backyard, Pakistani leadership should not be complacent on responding to accusations against the ISI.

Former Ambassador Tariq Fatemi said Islamabad should expect more pressure because this was how the US treats friends.

“We are heading towards more difficult situation if there is no honest and frank reappraisal,” Tariq remarked when asked how he saw the future of Pak-US relations.

Former diplomat Tanveer Ahmed Khan said in his opinion things were getting out of hands and advised the political leadership to engage their American counterparts in a quiet diplomacy.

“I think both countries need each other…Afghanistan is still an unfinished story and no one can rule out the role of Pakistan,” he added. (With additional reporting from AFP)





Published in The Express Tribune, May 8^th, 2011.