WASHINGTON – Director of the Central Intelligence Agency Leon Panetta has said that the United States has a very complicated relationship with Pakistan and both the countries often have conflicting view points on various issues.
“I have to tell you that it (US-Pakistan) is very complicated and it does involve oftentimes conflicting viewpoints of how we deal with issues,” Panetta told lawmakers at a Congressional hearing of the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. The relationship between Pakistan and the US is one of the most complicated relationships that I have seen in a long time, Panetta said in response to a question.
“On the one hand, obviously we are involved in targeting the leadership of al Qaeda there in Fata. And we do get the cooperation of Pakistanis in that effort,” Panetta said. “In addition to that we have gotten their cooperation on a military basis…and that has been appreciated as well,” he said.
Simultaneously, Pakistan looks at issues related to its national interest and takes steps that further complicate the relationship and create tensions between the two states, Panetta said. “That happens a great deal. Our effort is to try to work through those…we are involved in obviously very important efforts to deal with an enemy that threatens this country and we’re doing it in their nation, in the Fata and the tribal areas, it does require that we have to go out of our way to do everything possible to get their cooperation,” he said.
Panetta said another complicating issue was the fact that Pakistan was a nuclear power.
“They have a number of nuclear sites throughout their country, and they have proceeded to keep up development of their nuclear weapons,” he said.
