Pakistan’s army and intelligence chiefs told CIA Director Leon Panetta they were not willing to reverse a decision to cut the number of US troops allowed in Pakistan, Pakistani military officials said on Saturday.
Panetta, nominated to take over as US defense secretary next month, arrived in Pakistan on Friday on an unannounced visit, his first trip since a secret US raid that killed Osama bin Laden and severely damaged ties between the allies.
Pakistan’s army said on Thursday it had drastically cut down the number of US troops allowed in the country and set clear limits on intelligence sharing with the US.
“He [Panetta] expressed concerns over the reduction of trainers and operatives. We told him very clearly ‘no boots on our soil is acceptable,’” a Pakistani military official said.
Panetta held talks with army chief General Ashfaq Kayani and Lieutenant General Ahmad Shuja Pasha, head of military intelligence.
US officials have confirmed that Pakistan is severely cutting back the presence of US military personnel and intelligence agents, but Washington still expects some to remain in the country.
A US official described the talks as productive and said “at root, this isn’t about numbers. It’s about a commitment to thwart al-Qaeda and its militant allies.”
“The United States is confident that the Pakistanis understand the stakes involved, particularly when their own people are suffering from all-too-frequent terrorist attacks,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
At least 39 people were killed in a suspected suicide bombing in Peshawar late on Saturday, the latest attack since bin Laden’s killing last month.
Washington kept Islamabad in the dark about the May 2 raid by US Navy SEALs until after it was over, humiliating Pakistan’s armed forces and putting US military and intelligence ties under serious strain.
“We told him [Panetta] that we are clear. We don’t want their people. Intelligence sharing is fine and we are ready for that,” another Pakistani military official said.
Washington was alarmed by the fact that bin Laden had apparently been living for years in a Pakistani town about a two-hour drive from the intelligence headquarters.
The CIA has stepped up remotely piloted drone aircraft missile strikes against militant targets in northwest Pakistan since bin Laden’s death.
Relations between US and Pakistani intelligence agencies are often hampered by mistrust. Pakistan is often accused of playing a “double game,” vowing to help the US fight militant groups while supporting some of them, an allegation it denies.
The US gave Pakistan the locations of militant bomb-making factories last month, the US official said. The sites were later abandoned, suggesting there had been a tip-off.
Panetta raised the issue in his talks with Pakistan’s army and intelligence chiefs, the US official said.
“There will be active intelligence sharing on both sides, but there will be no American boots on our territory,” a third Pakistani military official said, describing the message Panetta received on his trip.
“Any action against the militants will be taken by our forces alone but we will share intelligence on militants actively,” the Pakistani official added.
Additional reporting by AFP
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of