Washington: The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has made it clear to Pakistan that it has no plan to suspend “spy operation” in Pakistan despite severe objection from Islamabad, a US official said.
Pakistan has strongly criticised US missile strikes in the northwest areas of the country but CIA Director Leon Panetta has told DG Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Ahmed Shuja Pasha that he has a duty to continue attacks, the senior official spoke on condition of anonymity, AFP reported.
“Panetta has been clear with his Pakistani counterparts that his fundamental responsibility is to protect the American people, and he will not halt operations that support that objective,” the official said.
Panetta on Monday held four-hour with Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha outside Washington.
US media had reported that Pasha and other officials told the United States to stop drone strikes and cut the number of CIA agents and Special Forces operating in Pakistan.
Apparently reflecting the CIA chief’s stance, American drones resumed missile attacks in Pakistan on Wednesday for the first time in a month, targeting militants near the Afghan border.
It was the first missile strike since March 17, when Pakistan’s civilian and military leaders gravely protested over a US drone attack that killed at least 48 people, including civilians and police, in North Waziristan.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani severely criticised the fresh bombing raid.
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