News Detail
Pakistan, US intelligence chiefs to meet August 1-3
WASHINGTON: The head of Pakistan's premier intelligence agency will hold talks in Washington on August 1-3 with his CIA counterpart, a military statement said, with drone strikes expected to be a major issue.
It is the first time in a year that the chief of the Pakistan military's powerful ISI will make the trip, signalling a thaw in relations after US troops found and killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in May 2011.
Lieutenant General Zaheer ul-Islam, who was appointed in March, "will visit USA from 1st to 3rd August. This will be a service-to-service bilateral visit," the statement said.
"He will meet his counterpart General David Petraeus, director CIA."
The short statement gave no other details, but a senior Pakistani security official earlier told AFP that the pair would discuss counter-terror cooperation and intelligence sharing.
Islam would also demand an end to US drone attacks against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, and again ask for the means for Pakistan to carry out the attacks instead, the security official said.
It had been expected that Islam would visit the US in late July. It was not immediately clear why that trip did not happen.
Islamabad has been increasingly vocal in its public opposition to the drones. Pakistan's leaders had quietly approved initially but now say they are a violation of sovereignty and insist they fan anti-US sentiment.
US officials are understood to believe the attacks too important to give up, although the number declined as relations between the nominal allies plunged to their lowest in a decade.
But on July 3 Islamabad agreed to end a seven-month blockade on NATO supplies travelling overland to Afghanistan after the United States apologised for the deaths of 24 Pakistani soldiers in botched air strikes last November.
The resumption of NATO traffic has been temporarily suspended over fears of Islamist attacks.--(AFP)
Highlights
-
Sharif seeks improved relations with Kabul
KABUL: Following his landslide victory in Pakistan’s parliamentary elections, Mian Nawaz Sharif on Sunday promised efforts at improving Islamabad-Kabul relations. In recent weeks, ties between.... READ MORE
-
Taliban free 4 of 8 Turkish engineers
KABUL: The Taliban have freed four of the Turkish engineers they had kidnapped last month in central Logar province, Afghan and Turkish officials said on Sunday. On April 21, the Taliban kidnapp.... READ MORE
-
MPs suggest rethink on Pakistan policy
KABUL: Members of the Meshrano Jirga -- or upper house of the parliament -- on Sunday said the incoming Pakistan government would not help Afghanistan and asked the Karzai administration to revie.... READ MORE
-
Karzai hopes new Pak govt to help fight terror
KABUL: President Hamid Karzai on Sunday telephoned Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) chief Mian Nawaz Sharif and congratulated him his “clear victory” in the elections. Karzai described Sharif.... READ MORE
-
Iranian guards’ fire being probed: Musazai
KABUL: The Foreign Ministry said it was dispatching a delegation to Iran on Sunday to investigate reported casualties among Afghans at the hands of Iranian guards near the shared border. At leas.... READ MORE
-
Balochs vow to resist aggression
KABUL: The Council of Baloch Elders of Afghanistan on Sunday voiced their support for the government in guarding the country's borders against Pakistani intrusions. At a meeting with President H.... READ MORE
-
Hundreds rally against Pakistan, Iran
FARAH CITY: Hundreds of people, mostly former jihadi leaders, on Sunday rallied against Pakistan and Iran, accusing the neighbouring countries of killing and torturing innocent Afghans. Nearly 5.... READ MORE
-
Abducted MDC workers shifted to Tirah
JALALABAD: The eleven employees of a mine-clearing organisation, who were abducted from the Achin district of Nangarhar province, have been taken to Pakistan’s northwestern Tirah Valley, offici.... READ MORE
Clippings
Iran and blame the victim game
Tehran is continuously interfering in Afghanistan and pressurizing Kabul under one pretext or the other. Iran’s meddling into our internal affairs while giving it name of concern as Tehran did it recently when its ambassa...
