Leon Panetta
CIA director Leon Panetta. — Photo by AP

ISLAMABAD: Head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Leon Panetta phoned head of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Ahmed Shuja Pasha, DawnNews reported.

The two intelligence chiefs reportedly discussed the issue of CIA contractor Raymond Davis and the status of cooperation between the CIA and the ISI.

Defence sources confirmed the conversation and said the ISI chief expressed his reservations over covert activities of CIA operatives during the talk with Panetta.

Sources said the ISI chief emphasised on Pakistan's security and sovereignty during the conversation.

Sources further said that the CIA will now be providing the ISI with complete records and data on all such operatives.

The CIA will also explain the procedures pertaining to the operatives' activities, sources said.

When contacted, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) refused to confirm or negate the telephone conversation.

Earlier on Thursday, Pakistani intelligence officials said cooperation between the two intelligence agencies had been scaled back because of the Davis incident.

A senior official in Islamabad on Thursday said the Davis case had strained but not broken relations between the CIA and the ISI because the ISI didn’t know about Davis before he shot and killed two Pakistanis on January 27.

“It’s not business as usual; it’s not open war,” the official said. “Cooperation and operations together will continue at a lesser scale.”

Opinion

Editorial

Border clashes
19 May, 2024

Border clashes

THE Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier has witnessed another series of flare-ups, this time in the Kurram tribal district...
Penalising the dutiful
19 May, 2024

Penalising the dutiful

DOES the government feel no remorse in burdening honest citizens with the cost of its own ineptitude? With the ...
Students in Kyrgyzstan
19 May, 2024

Students in Kyrgyzstan

BEING stranded on foreign shores is hardly an agreeable experience. And if the environment is hostile — as it...
Ominous demands
Updated 18 May, 2024

Ominous demands

The federal government needs to boost its revenues to reduce future borrowing and pay back its existing debt.
Property leaks
18 May, 2024

Property leaks

THE leaked Dubai property data reported on by media organisations around the world earlier this week seems to have...
Heat warnings
18 May, 2024

Heat warnings

STARTING next week, the country must brace for brutal heatwaves. The NDMA warns of severe conditions with...