Pak arrests CIA's informants in Osama raid: Report

PAK-ARREST
From Betwa Sharma
New York, Jun 15 (PTI) Pakistan's top spy agency ISI
has arrested five CIA informants, including a Army major, who
supplied information to the CIA ahead of the US operation that
killed Osama bin Laden, according to American officials.
One of the detainees was reported to be a Pakistani
Army major whom officials said copied license plates of cars
visiting the al-Qaeda leader's compound in Abbottabat,
Islamabad, The New York Times, citing officials, reported.
The fate of the CIA informants who were arrested was
unclear, but American officials told the newspaper that CIA
Director Leon Panetta raised the issue when he visited
Islamabad last week to meet with Pakistani military and
intelligence officers.
"We have a strong relationship with our Pakistani
counterparts and work through issues when they arise," CIA
spokeswoman Marie E Harf said.
"Director Panetta had productive meetings last week
in Islamabad. It's a crucial partnership, and we will continue
to work together in the fight against al-Qaeda and other
terrorist groups who threaten our country and theirs."
The Times described the arrest as "the latest
evidence of the fractured relationship between the United
States and Pakistan."
Some in Washington see the arrests as illustrative of
the disconnect between Pakistani and American priorities at a
time when they are supposed to be allies in the fight against
Al Qaeda — instead of hunting down the support network that
allowed bin Laden to live comfortably for years, the Pakistani
authorities are arresting those who assisted in the raid that
killed the world's most wanted man, the Times reported.
Michael J Morell, the deputy CIA director, reportedly
rated Pakistan's cooperation with the United States on counter
terrorism operations as three on a scale of 1 to 10.
Meanwhile, Husain Haqqani, Pakistan's ambassador to
the US, told NYT that CIA and the Pakistani spy agency "are
working out mutually agreeable terms for their cooperation in
fighting the menace of terrorism. It is not appropriate for us
to get into the details at this stage."
Since the Raymond Davies incident, American officials
reportedly said that the ISI, have been generally unwilling to
carry out surveillance operations for the CIA.
Further, the Pakistanis have also resisted granting
visas allowing American intelligence officers to operate in
Pakistan, and have threatened to put greater restrictions on
the drone flights.
The Pentagon programme to train Pakistan paramilitary
troops to fight al-Qaeda and the Taliban also has ended, and
the last of about 120 American military advisers have left the
country.
In Washington, Representative Mike Rogers, a
Michigan Republican yesterday said that he believed elements
of the ISI and the military had helped protect Bin Laden, but
did not provide any direct evidence.
Rogers said that Obama administration needed to put
more restrictions on the USD 2 billion in American military
aid received annually by Pakistan. PTI BS
KAP