CIA Outlines Pakistan Links With Militants

Pakistan is a leading partner in the US war against terrorism, but some US officials have produced evidence of disturbing links between Pakistani intelligence officials and militants responsible for violence in Afghanistan, particularly the network of Maulavi Jalaluddin Haqqan. “The C.I.A. has depended heavily on the ISI for information about militants in Pakistan, despite longstanding concerns about divided loyalties within the Pakistani spy service, which had close relations with the Taliban in Afghanistan before the Sept. 11 attacks,” report Mark Mazzetti and Eric Schmitt for the New York Times. Ties between an established government service of Pakistan – a nuclear state – and extremists is worrisome for the US and Pakistan’s neighbors, as demonstrated by a high-ranking CIA official traveling to Pakistan to deliver the evidence and speak with intelligence officials. Not yet determined or revealed, according to Mazzetti and Schmitt, is whether the links are condoned by the government or carried out by rogue players. – YaleGlobal