CIA visas issued after disclosure guarantee

Islamabad: The Pakistan Embassy in USA has issued 67 visas to CIA officials for deployment in Pakistan, according to a report quoting embassy sources in Washington.

The decision, according to the sources quoted by newspaper Dawn in Washington, followed an understanding between the two governments on CIA deployments and postings in Pakistan.

"Under the new arrangement, the CIA has accepted Islamabad's demand that all intelligence postings in the country should be fully disclosed, and shared with the Pakistani government," the source said, adding that Pakistan agreed to issue the visas only after a "full disclosures" request was granted.

The agreement was reached after talks in Islamabad earlier this month between ISI chief Lieutenant-General Ahmad Shuja Pasha and top CIA officials, including director Leon Panetta.

"Now the ISI will be fully aware of who is doing what and where he is posted at," a diplomat said. "There will be no room for misunderstanding and suspicions."

Relations strained

US-Pakistan relations as well as cooperation between their armed forces and spy agencies came under severe strain after the May 2 commando operation that killed Osama Bin Laden in his hideout on Pakistani soil.

Pakistan set up an inquiry commission earlier this week under a Supreme Court judge to probe the circumstances of the covert raid and also look into how Bin Laden managed to live undetected for five years in Abbottabad.