Arrests after fatal raid further roil relations

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Pakistan has arrested informants who helped the U.S. zero in on Osama bin Laden, U.S. and Pakistani sources said Wednesday in the latest damaging repercussion from the fatal raid that angered and embarrassed Pakistanis as much as it thrilled Americans.

Authorities in Pakistan also have failed to expedite the entry of CIA officers into the country, despite agreeing two weeks ago to form a new joint intelligence-sharing team to hunt al-Qaida, two senior U.S. officials told The Associated Press. The joint team was intended to rebuild trust on both sides that was badly damaged by fallout from the May 2 raid deep inside Pakistan.

Pakistan considers the raid a violation of its sovereignty and is incensed that the U.S. withheld plans from its nominal ally for fear that the Pakistanis would tip off bin Laden. Many Pakistanis are angry with their own Army — the country’s pre-eminent institution — for failing to intercept the U.S. Navy SEALs who carried out the raid.

Officials in Pakistan deny arresting informants and insist their government is cooperating to issue visas for U.S. intelligence officers, but they provide no timeframe. They in turn complain that the U.S. has shared very little intelligence with them from the bin Laden operation.

The claims and counterclaims are further signs that a partnership born of a shared goal to foil terrorism is undermined by mistrust, suspicion and finger-pointing, despite several high-level U.S. visits to Islamabad to patch things over.

CIA Director Leon Panetta spent last weekend trying to smooth over disagreements with the country’s Interservices Intelligence, Pakistani officials say, including pressing the Pakistanis to move forward on forming the joint intelligence team to go after high-value al-Qaida targets thought to be living in Pakistan.

Panetta and his counterpart, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, discussed how many CIA officers would be allowed in to pursue al-Qaida and what they would be allowed to do, a Pakistani official said Tuesday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the confidential meeting.