ISLAMABAD: The mistrust between the intelligence establishments of Pakistan and the United States is set to widen further with the recent blowing up of the security cover of yet another CIA station chief in Islamabad and the lodging of an FIR against him at a Hangu police station on charges of ‘waging a war against Pakistan and killing civilians’.
Highly-placed diplomatic circles in Islamabad say the identity of the station chief of the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in any part of the world is kept as a closely guarded secret even by the host country, an a matter of principle, mainly because of the security concerns.
However, they regretted that Craig Osth is the third CIA station chief in Islamabad whose identity has been revealed by the intelligence establishment of the host country since 2011 when Osama was killed in a clandestine US raid in Abbottabad.
The CIA Islamabad station chief is considered to be one of the most important positions in the world and the US has already been made to withdraw two station chiefs of the spy agency in Islamabad during the last 30 months, because their identity was revealed in a clear breach of both protocol and trust.
The identity of the incumbent CIA station chief in Islamabad was revealed on November 27 at a press conference addressed by the information Secretary of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI), Shirin Mazari, who remained head of Institute of Strategic Studies.
She informed the media that her party had already approached the Tal Hangu police to nominate the CIA Director John Brennan and his station chief in Islamabad, Craig Osth, as accused of committing gross offences of murder of civilians and waging a war against Pakistan.
This is despite the fact that the drone strike had killed four senior commanders of the Haqqani Network who were staying at a compound adjacent to a religious seminary in Hangu.
The FIR has demanded initiation of cases against both the CIA officials under the Pakistan Penal Code and the Anti Terrorist Act for running a spying network in the country and for killing innocent civilians in drone attacks.
The FIR claims that the CIA station chief (Craig Osth) is residing and operating from the US Embassy situated in the Diplomatic Enclave in Islamabad, which is a clear violation of diplomatic norms and laws since a foreign mission cannot be used for any criminal activity in a sovereign state. CIA station chief is not a diplomatic post.
Craig Osth is subject to the jurisdiction of Pakistan and liable to be tried under Section 3 of the Pakistan Penal Code for committing an offence u/s 302, 319, 109, 121 PPC and/or u/s 7 ATA or any other penal clause which might be attracted.
Internews
