The head of Inter-Services Intelligence directorate met CIA Director Leon Panetta on Monday to discuss ISI demands for greater control over US spy operations on Pakistani soil. The meeting, at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, represented an attempt by both Panetta and the Pakistani spy chief, Lieutenant-General Ahmad Shuja Pasha, to repair the critical relationship between the two agencies, which had suffered serious strains over the last six months.
Officials indicated the meeting had gone well, though key issues remain unresolved. "Director Panetta and General Pasha held productive discussions today and the CIA-ISI relationship remains on solid footing," Preston Golson, a CIA spokesman, told Reuters. "The United States and Pakistan share a wide range of mutual interests and today's exchange emphasised the need to continue to work closely together, including on our common fight against terrorist networks that threaten both countries."
Privately, US officials acknowledged that despite renewed goodwill, some Pakistani demands for greater scrutiny and control over CIA activities in Pakistan are unacceptable to the administration of President Barack Obama. The sources also said the CIA had agreed to give ISI more credit for its counter-terrorism efforts and to keep Pakistani authorities better informed of CIA activities.
Following Monday's meeting between the spy chiefs, a US official said: "The Pakistanis have asked for more visibility into some things, and that request is being talked about - along with a host of other topics, including ways to further expand the partnership." But the official also said that while some Pakistani proposals were "under review," the Obama administration regarded others as "non-starters."
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