US suspends 'all high-level dialogue' with Pakistan

[Magda Hassan]

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."
http://www.dawn.com/2011/02/26/isi-cia-c...ssues.html