ID :
14629
Sat, 08/02/2008 - 09:26
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http://m.oananews.org//node/14629
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CIA presents Pak PM charge-sheet on ISI's links with militants
Islamabad, Aug 2 (PTI) Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani was handed a "charge-sheet" by CIA chief Michael V. Hayden on Pakistani intelligence agencies' links to militant activities and was told to "rein in the ISI" during their meeting inWashington.
"Some information in the CIA charge-sheet was so damning that the Pakistanis could not deny them," a senior officialfamiliar with the talks told the Dawn newspaper.
Diplomatic and US sources said the allegations included in the "charge-sheet" were almost identical to what The NewYork Times had reported on Wednesday.
The US daily had also reported about CIA Deputy Director Stephen R. Kappes' secret visit to Islamabad last month to confront Pakistan with information about the ISI's links withmilitants in the northwestern tribal areas.
CIA chief Hayden, who met Gilani at a dinner on Monday, is believed to have told the Prime Minister that Pakistan will have to do something about the alleged involvement of ISIofficials with militants.
Hayden also told Gilani that even a change of government in Washington would not help Pakistan as whoever occupied the White House in January would want Islamabad to "rein in theISI", said the senior official.
US President George W. Bush too expressed "concern and some annoyance" over the leaking of information to terrorists by the ISI during his meeting with Gilani on Monday. Bush told Gilani that Washington is reluctant to share intelligence with Islamabad because people in the ISI are passing on suchinformation to militants.
In an interview to the Washington Times, Gilani confirmedThe New York Times report that Kappes and Admiral Michael G.
Mullen, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited Islamabad in mid-July with reports of the alleged links ofsome ISI officials with militants.
Asked whether he was confident that the ISI contained no pockets of Taliban sympathy, Gilani said: "I am pretty sure about it." But he added: "We will still have to look into (the accusations)...It will be resolved." Kappes had presented evidence showing that members of the ISI had deepened their ties with some militant groupsresponsible for a surge of violence in Afghanistan.
Diplomatic sources noted that by leaking this information to The New York Times while Gilani was still in Washington, the US administration tried to convince the Pakistanis that they "were really upset" over this issue. The sources also noted that while previous leaks on this issue quoted unnamedsources, this report directly quoted senior CIA officials.
According to diplomatic sources, the US is trying to work out an arrangement with Pakistan for curtailing the ISI's power. Under this new arrangement, the ISI wing that deals with internal security may be transferred to the interior ministry and the agency may be asked to reduce its role in thewar on terror.
"While the ISI may still have some role in both internal security and the war on terror, it will be not be as influential as it is today...At least this is what the Americans and Pakistanis hope to achieve," said an official familiar with the talks. PTI RHL
"Some information in the CIA charge-sheet was so damning that the Pakistanis could not deny them," a senior officialfamiliar with the talks told the Dawn newspaper.
Diplomatic and US sources said the allegations included in the "charge-sheet" were almost identical to what The NewYork Times had reported on Wednesday.
The US daily had also reported about CIA Deputy Director Stephen R. Kappes' secret visit to Islamabad last month to confront Pakistan with information about the ISI's links withmilitants in the northwestern tribal areas.
CIA chief Hayden, who met Gilani at a dinner on Monday, is believed to have told the Prime Minister that Pakistan will have to do something about the alleged involvement of ISIofficials with militants.
Hayden also told Gilani that even a change of government in Washington would not help Pakistan as whoever occupied the White House in January would want Islamabad to "rein in theISI", said the senior official.
US President George W. Bush too expressed "concern and some annoyance" over the leaking of information to terrorists by the ISI during his meeting with Gilani on Monday. Bush told Gilani that Washington is reluctant to share intelligence with Islamabad because people in the ISI are passing on suchinformation to militants.
In an interview to the Washington Times, Gilani confirmedThe New York Times report that Kappes and Admiral Michael G.
Mullen, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited Islamabad in mid-July with reports of the alleged links ofsome ISI officials with militants.
Asked whether he was confident that the ISI contained no pockets of Taliban sympathy, Gilani said: "I am pretty sure about it." But he added: "We will still have to look into (the accusations)...It will be resolved." Kappes had presented evidence showing that members of the ISI had deepened their ties with some militant groupsresponsible for a surge of violence in Afghanistan.
Diplomatic sources noted that by leaking this information to The New York Times while Gilani was still in Washington, the US administration tried to convince the Pakistanis that they "were really upset" over this issue. The sources also noted that while previous leaks on this issue quoted unnamedsources, this report directly quoted senior CIA officials.
According to diplomatic sources, the US is trying to work out an arrangement with Pakistan for curtailing the ISI's power. Under this new arrangement, the ISI wing that deals with internal security may be transferred to the interior ministry and the agency may be asked to reduce its role in thewar on terror.
"While the ISI may still have some role in both internal security and the war on terror, it will be not be as influential as it is today...At least this is what the Americans and Pakistanis hope to achieve," said an official familiar with the talks. PTI RHL
