It was General Musharraf who cut a secret deal with the US in 2006, allowing clandestine CIA operations in Pakistan. Under the agreement, the CIA was allowed to acquire the services of private security firms, including Blackwater (Xe Worldwide) and DynCorp to conduct surveillance on the Taliban and al-Qaeda. A senior Pakistani security official told Reuters in 2011: “At the end of 2009, a special presidential order was issued to give 7,000 visas and the same order was passed through the prime minister’s office to Mr. Haqqanis,” referring to Pakistan’s ambassador to the US from 2008-2011, Husain Haqqani. Pakistan’s government issued visas to more than 400 Americans without army security clearances enabling the CIA to boost its presence in Pakistan. It was during this increasing presence in Pakistan of the CIA that attacks on Pakistani soil in the market places, schools, car bombs, shrine attacks, military bases as well as other civilian targets in densely populated areas, all began to frequently take place. This began to shift public opinion in Pakistan with growing calls for military intervention in FATA and Swat. In fact before any major military operation taking place by the Pakistan military a corresponding “terrorist” attack would precede it.
Posted on: Sun, 21 Dec 2014 19:24:26 +0000
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