ISI chief off to Washington
By Huma Imtiaz
Published: July 13, 2011
In first visit to US after Bin Laden raid, Pasha will meet his counterparts to discuss intelligence matters.
WASHINGTON: The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Chief General Ahmed Shuja Pasha left for a one-day visit to Washington, DC on Wednesday.
According to sources, the ISI chief will be meeting his counterparts to discuss intelligence matters during his one-day consultation meeting, while a CIA spokesperson officially declined to comment on the story.
The Embassy of Pakistan also issued a statement saying that they do not comment on intelligence matters.
This will be General Pasha’s first visit to the United States since the Abbottabad raid that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, sparking tensions between both the countries.
The visit comes just days after the White House officially confirmed that the United States had put on hold $800 million in assistance to Pakistan, of which nearly $300 million was for coalition support funds, while $500 million had been allocated for military equipment and trainers. Following the Abbottabad raid, the Pakistan Army had asked the US military trainers to leave the country.
The ISI has come under renewed criticism in various circles in Washington DC. In June this year, former CIA director and now Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta visited Pakistan, amidst reports that the United States had provided intelligence to their Pakistani counterparts on bomb-making factories that had been cleared before the military could inspect the factories.
Following journalist Saleem Shahzad’s death in Pakistan, the ISI was also accused of being responsible for Shahzad’s kidnapping and subsequent murder. A recent editorial in the New York Times also called for General Pasha to step down as a result.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/208630/pakistan-intelligence-chief-heads-to-us-for-talks/
