NEW YORK:-
Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said the Haqqani group that the US holds responsible for last week’s attack against the American embassy in Kabul was
CIA’s “blue-eyed boy” for many years.
Responding to questions during an interview with Al Jazeera television, Khar, who is in New York leading Pakistan’s delegation to the UN General Assembly, rejected US accusations against Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), saying it has no links to the Haqqani network.
“If we talk about links, I am sure the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) also has links with many terrorist organisations around the world, by which we mean intelligence links,” she said.
“And this particular network, which [the United States] continues to talk about, is a network which was the blue-eyed boy of the CIA itself for many years.”
When asked about Admiral Mike Mullen’s statement that the Haqqani group “acts as a veritable arm” of ISI, the foreign minister said: “It is something that goes very, very unappreciated on our side. This is unsubstantiated. No evidence has been shared with us.”
Partners and allies, she said, do not talk to each other through public statements.
Pakistan had taken up the matter with the United States, but the spate of hostile statements coming from senior US officials meant that Washington had taken policy decision. If that was the case then “we have the right to make our own decision”, she said.
Ms Khar said that scapegoating and blame games would not help and that Pakistan wanted to be a partner of the US.
“I just hope that we’ll be given a chance to co-operate with each other and the doors will remain open — because statements like this are pretty much close to shutting those doors,” she added.
Replying to a question, Ms Khar said drone attacks not only violated Pakistan’s sovereignty, they were also counterproductive, and greatly angered the people of Pakistan.
“I think we must not be tested more than we have the ability to bear,” she added.
CIA’s “blue-eyed boy” for many years.
Responding to questions during an interview with Al Jazeera television, Khar, who is in New York leading Pakistan’s delegation to the UN General Assembly, rejected US accusations against Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), saying it has no links to the Haqqani network.
“If we talk about links, I am sure the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) also has links with many terrorist organisations around the world, by which we mean intelligence links,” she said.
“And this particular network, which [the United States] continues to talk about, is a network which was the blue-eyed boy of the CIA itself for many years.”
When asked about Admiral Mike Mullen’s statement that the Haqqani group “acts as a veritable arm” of ISI, the foreign minister said: “It is something that goes very, very unappreciated on our side. This is unsubstantiated. No evidence has been shared with us.”
Partners and allies, she said, do not talk to each other through public statements.
Pakistan had taken up the matter with the United States, but the spate of hostile statements coming from senior US officials meant that Washington had taken policy decision. If that was the case then “we have the right to make our own decision”, she said.
Ms Khar said that scapegoating and blame games would not help and that Pakistan wanted to be a partner of the US.
“I just hope that we’ll be given a chance to co-operate with each other and the doors will remain open — because statements like this are pretty much close to shutting those doors,” she added.
Replying to a question, Ms Khar said drone attacks not only violated Pakistan’s sovereignty, they were also counterproductive, and greatly angered the people of Pakistan.
“I think we must not be tested more than we have the ability to bear,” she added.
