While brinkmanship continues with the defence minister and the corps commanders telling the US that Pakistan can fight terrorism with its own resources, Islamabad seeks reversal of Washington’s decision of withholding $800 million military aid as the ISI director general reached the US capital to convey to them that Pakistan would have no choice but to pull out of the alliance in case the assistance was not restored.
In the wake of the US announcement of withholding the military assistance to Pakistan a couple of days ago, a flurry of activities took place in Islamabad including top level military consultations at the corps commanders’ forum on Tuesday, military officials talking to civilian rulers besides two crucial meetings between US CENTCOM chief General James Mattis with COAS General Ashfaq Kayani and CJCSC General Khalid Shamim Wynne.In their in-house debate, Pakistani authorities decided that a firm message would be delivered to the US authorities in Washington through ISI chief General Ahmed Shuja Pasha that Islamabad could only continue anti-terrorism cooperation with Washington if the withheld aid was restored.
“General Kayani and General Wynne gave the same message to General Mattis during their meetings, telling him that withholding aid to the military fighting on the front in the war on terror was uncalled for on the part of the US and it needed to be taken back,” a security official seeing anonymity said. General David H Petraeus, the outgoing ISAF commander in Afghanistan, is likely to reach Islamabad today (Thursday) on a daylong visit to meet senior army officials to ease the prevailing tension in the bilateral relations and pave the way for normal ties. Pakistani authorities are, however, in no mood to accept US demands asking for reversal of Islamabad’s decision of sending home dozens of CIA operatives and US military trainers that were here to train Pakistan’s paramilitary forces before the killing of al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in a covert US military operation in Abbottabad on May 2.
A Pakistani diplomat told Pakistan Today that Pakistan was willing to extend complete intelligence cooperation to US in the fight against terrorism but a ‘CIA network’ on Pakistani soil would not be accepted.
“The US is also perturbed over detention of several Pakistani citizens working for CIA to keep an eye on bin Laden before he was killed on May 2. These locals were arrested by Pakistani security agencies days after the death of the al Qaeda chief,” he said.
He said Pakistan was also not ready to set free the local CIA operatives in return for the restoration of military assistance like other tough American conditions.
Owing to strained Pakistan-US ties, General Kayani’s meetings with the visiting US officials are also not being reported to the media.
The ISPR, which issued a brief statement at the end of General Mattis’ meeting with General Wynne on Wednesday did not say anything about the visiting general’s talks with General Kayani. It was rather a statement by US embassy on Wednesday that interestingly mentioned Mattis’ meeting with Kayani along with the separate talks between US official and General Wynne.
