Hundreds of CIA operatives still in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD – Despite the US providing a list of all CIA-linked contractors operating in Pakistan to authorities as demanded in the wake of the Raymond Davis fiasco, almost all such “dubious characters” still happen to be inside Pakistan. The US authorities have shared with Pakistani officials the exact number of CIA-linked contractors in Pakistan, as well as details of their whereabouts and nature of jobs.
Defence circles in Islamabad believe that almost all details required have been furnished by the US and think of it as a great achievement keeping in view national interests. However, people linked with CIA, whose number is said to be around 300, are still to leave Pakistan and that could lead to another serious problem between the two countries after the row over Davis.
A diplomatic source – privy to the agreed redefinition of “parameters” between Islamabad and Washington for the ongoing anti-terrorism efforts – said apart from sharing details of the “dubious characters” in Pakistan, CIA had also agreed to cut back on spying in Pakistan. “That has not happened so far despite the passage of several days in the aftermath of settlement of the Davis issue and that is a cause of serious concern for authorities in Islamabad,” he said.
An official neither denied nor confirmed the presence of a large number of CIA-linked operatives in Pakistan and the prevalent anger over the issue among the defence circles. However, he said one major policy shift had occurred as far as the issuance of visa to the Americans by the Pakistan Embassy in Washington was concerned.
“Better call it a reversal to old visa policy as for the Americans instead of shift in policy. Our embassy in Washington cannot issue visas to American citizens on its own and all applications for visas would be sent once again to Islamabad for vetting by the country’s security organisations, as was done before,” he said.