25/10/2013 09:55
U.S., Pakistan had secret agreement on dozens of drone strikes
Pakistani officials have for years secretly endorsed the U.S. drone program, even picking out at least one target for such an attack, a Washington Post report said, according to CNN.
Neither the White House, the U.S. State Department nor the Pakistani Foreign Ministry would comment on the story, which said top secret CIA documents and Pakistani memos obtained by the Post described at least 65 such strikes between late 2007 and late 2011.
The story comes as Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif visited President Obama in Washington. Sharif told reporters he brought up the issue of drone strikes with Obama, "emphasizing the need for an end to such strikes."
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney was asked Thursday about the report.
"I can't speak to specific operational issues," he said. "What I can tell you is that on matters of bilateral cooperation and counterterrorism, we have regular conversations with Pakistan."
For years Pakistani officials have denounced any drone attacks, but the Post story says not only did they know about the strikes but they also actively participated in selecting some targets. One document from 2010 contains an entry about striking a site "at the request of your government," the Post said.
CNN Chief National Security Correspondent Jim Sciutto said his sources have told him there has long been good cooperation between intelligence agencies in the two nations.
Unmanned U.S. drones began launching attacks in Pakistan in 2004, by which time Musharraf had led the country for five years after taking power in a bloodless coup.
He said Pakistani leaders would OK U.S. drone strikes after discussions involving military and intelligence units and only if "there was no time for our own ... military to act."
Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry, a spokesman for the Pakistan Foreign Ministry, said Thursday that Islamabad doesn't "comment on specific media reports citing unnamed sources."