US demands names of ISI operatives

The US has demanded the identities of ISI operatives amid suspicion that intelligence agency shielded bin Laden

US demands names of ISI operatives

The US has demanded the identities of ISI operatives amid suspicion that intelligence agency shielded bin Laden

Pakistani officials say the Obama administration has demanded the identities of some of their top intelligence operatives as the United States tries to determine whether any of them had contact with Osama bin Laden or his agents in the years before the raid that led to his death early Monday morning in Pakistan. The officials provided new details of a tense discussion between Pakistani officials and an American envoy who travelled to Pakistan on Monday, as well as the growing suspicion among US intelligence and diplomatic officials that someone in Pakistan's secret intelligence agency knew of Laden's location, and helped shield him.

According to reports, Gen. Pasha may step down as ISI chief

According to a senior US administration official the US administration sees its relationship with Pakistan as too crucial to risk a wholesale break, even if it turned out that past or present Pakistani intelligence officials did know about Laden's whereabouts.

Still, this official and others expressed deep frustration with Pakistani military and intelligence officials for their refusal over the years to identify members of the agency who were believed to have close ties with Laden. In particular, American officials have demanded information on what is known as the ISI's S directorate, which has worked closely with militants since the days of the fight against the Soviet army.

"It's hard to believe that Kayani and Pasha actually knew that Laden was there," a senior administration official was quoted as saying to The New York Times, referring to Pakistan's army chief, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, and the ISI Director-General, Lt. Gen. Ahmad Shuja Pasha. The official said, "There are degrees of knowing, and it wouldn't surprise me if we find out that someone close to Pasha knew."

Already, Pakistani news outlets have been speculating that General Pasha may step down as a consequence of the Bin Laden operation. However, the ISI has rejected these reports. Meanwhile, Pakistani investigators involved in piecing together Laden's life during the past nine years said this week that he had been living in Pakistan's urban centers longer than previously believed.