Amidst a new row between Islamabad and Washington over the sentencing of Dr Shakil Afridi, who helped the CIA in tracking al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden last year, ISI Director General Lt General Zaheerul Islam has postponed his scheduled visit to the US. The ISI chief was to leave for the US later this week to meet CIA Director General David Petraeus and other senior American officials and discuss with them matters related to counter-terrorism cooperation. An army spokesman said on Monday that the ISI DG had postponed his visit to the United States due to his “pressing commitments” in the country and that there was no other reason for postponing the trip. However, a diplomatic source said the ISI chief’s visit had been put off owing to the row over Dr Shakil Afridi, who has awarded a 33-year sentence. Gen Zaheer is likely to undertake his trip to Washington after a few days. “The Obama administration has reacted very strongly to the sentencing of Dr Afridi and it has caused great harm to the ongoing efforts between Islamabad and Washington to resolve another serious row between the two sides over the reopening of NATO supplies lines,” the source said. Pakistan closed the NATO supply routes about six months ago when American aircraft raided its border posts and killed 24 soldiers. “The conflicting issues were being resolved before the sentencing of Dr Afridi and it was expected that US would agree to pay around $3000 to Pakistan as tax on every NATO truck in response to Islamabad’s demand for $5000,” he said.
“As for the other Pakistani demand for US apology over the airstrikes, leading US Senator John Kerry was supposed to visit Islamabad and meet the families of the soldiers killed in the NATO assault and also express his condolence along with an offer of compensation amount,” the source said.
Nonetheless, the source said both sides were now once again back to where they were, with ties strained and reconciliatory efforts coming to standstill again.
A Pakistani official said on condition of anonymity that Dr Afridi’s episode had impacted the efforts for patch with the US, but the Obama administration must realize that it was purely Pakistan’s internal matter and Dr Afridi was a Pakistani citizen who had been punished under the law of land.