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| Pakistani Party Identifies Man It Says Is C.I.A. Station Chief | Pakistani Party Identifies Man It Says Is C.I.A. Station Chief |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The political party of the former cricket star Imran Khan on Wednesday identified a man it described as the Central Intelligence Agency station chief in Pakistan, in an escalation of Mr. Khan’s campaign to end American drone strikes in the country. | The political party of the former cricket star Imran Khan on Wednesday identified a man it described as the Central Intelligence Agency station chief in Pakistan, in an escalation of Mr. Khan’s campaign to end American drone strikes in the country. |
| In a letter to the Pakistani police, Mr. Khan’s information secretary, Shireen Mazari, accused the C.I.A. director, John O. Brennan, along with a man identified as the agency’s Islamabad station chief, of “committing murder and waging war against Pakistan.” | In a letter to the Pakistani police, Mr. Khan’s information secretary, Shireen Mazari, accused the C.I.A. director, John O. Brennan, along with a man identified as the agency’s Islamabad station chief, of “committing murder and waging war against Pakistan.” |
| In Washington, a C.I.A. spokesman declined to comment on the case. | In Washington, a C.I.A. spokesman declined to comment on the case. |
| Ms. Mazari demanded that the authorities prevent the station chief, whose identity has not yet been confirmed, from leaving the country so that he can face prosecution in a Pakistani court. | Ms. Mazari demanded that the authorities prevent the station chief, whose identity has not yet been confirmed, from leaving the country so that he can face prosecution in a Pakistani court. |
| That seems unlikely, but the move is expected to infuriate American officials, who had to recall a previous C.I.A. station chief in 2010 after he was identified in the local news media, also in relation to a legal suit brought by anti-drone campaigners. | That seems unlikely, but the move is expected to infuriate American officials, who had to recall a previous C.I.A. station chief in 2010 after he was identified in the local news media, also in relation to a legal suit brought by anti-drone campaigners. |
| But while that outing was blamed on smoldering tensions between the C.I.A. and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence spy agency, this time it appears to be driven more by Mr. Khan’s increasingly confrontational stance against drone strikes. | But while that outing was blamed on smoldering tensions between the C.I.A. and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence spy agency, this time it appears to be driven more by Mr. Khan’s increasingly confrontational stance against drone strikes. |
| In an appearance on a television talk show on Wednesday evening, Mr. Khan said he had named the station chief essentially to punish the C.I.A. for a deadly drone strike this month in the province his P.T.I. party controls, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Now, he said, it was up to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s government to take the next step against the American spy agency. | In an appearance on a television talk show on Wednesday evening, Mr. Khan said he had named the station chief essentially to punish the C.I.A. for a deadly drone strike this month in the province his P.T.I. party controls, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Now, he said, it was up to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s government to take the next step against the American spy agency. |
| In recent weeks, he had threatened to cut off NATO supply traffic passing through Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on the way to Afghanistan. That statement came after the American drone strike that killed the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, Hakimullah Mehsud. | In recent weeks, he had threatened to cut off NATO supply traffic passing through Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on the way to Afghanistan. That statement came after the American drone strike that killed the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, Hakimullah Mehsud. |
| Mr. Khan has been a leading advocate of ceasing military action against the Pakistani Taliban, despite the fact that Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa is the region hardest hit by militant violence. | Mr. Khan has been a leading advocate of ceasing military action against the Pakistani Taliban, despite the fact that Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa is the region hardest hit by militant violence. |
| The action by his party on Wednesday was said to be a response to the Nov. 21 drone strike that struck a seminary linked to the Haqqani network, a Taliban-affiliated militant group at the center of American security concerns in Afghanistan. The attack, which killed the Haqqanis’ spiritual leader and five others, occurred in the Hangu district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, in the first confirmed drone strike outside Pakistan’s tribal areas. | |
| Mr. Khan has used the drone issue to leverage his popularity against Prime Minister Sharif, who is his main electoral competitor in Punjab Province, and indeed has largely succeeded in framing the political debate on drones in recent years. | Mr. Khan has used the drone issue to leverage his popularity against Prime Minister Sharif, who is his main electoral competitor in Punjab Province, and indeed has largely succeeded in framing the political debate on drones in recent years. |
| Some Sharif supporters criticized Mr. Khan for trying to score political points by outing the C.I.A. station chief. “This a thoughtless move,” said Siddiqul Farooq, a central leader of the governing Pakistan Muslim League party. “It is selfish and compromises the national interest.” | Some Sharif supporters criticized Mr. Khan for trying to score political points by outing the C.I.A. station chief. “This a thoughtless move,” said Siddiqul Farooq, a central leader of the governing Pakistan Muslim League party. “It is selfish and compromises the national interest.” |
| When the identity of an earlier C.I.A. station chief was made public in 2010, it was also as part of litigation related to the drone campaign. But such court applications are mostly seen as public relations devices, and at the time American officials privately accused the ISI spy agency of a gross breach of trust. | When the identity of an earlier C.I.A. station chief was made public in 2010, it was also as part of litigation related to the drone campaign. But such court applications are mostly seen as public relations devices, and at the time American officials privately accused the ISI spy agency of a gross breach of trust. |
| While the C.I.A. station chief discloses his identity to senior Pakistani intelligence officials, he is technically a covert operative and his name is not commonly known in Pakistan or elsewhere. | While the C.I.A. station chief discloses his identity to senior Pakistani intelligence officials, he is technically a covert operative and his name is not commonly known in Pakistan or elsewhere. |
Reporting was contributed by Salman Masood from Islamabad, Pakistan, and Mark Mazzetti from Washington. | Reporting was contributed by Salman Masood from Islamabad, Pakistan, and Mark Mazzetti from Washington. |