[Tolo News] Pakistain's Army Chief, Ashfaq Kayani... four star general, current Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army. Kayani is the former Director General of ISI...
, is fighting to survive in his post while facing pressure by his colleagues, a US official has said.
Kayani is fighting to survive and his corps commanders are very strongly anti-US right now, so he has to appease them, a US official has told Washington Post on condition of anonymity.
US and Pak officials believe the security relationship between the United States and Pakistain has reduced to its lowest level since the two countries agreed to
cooperate after 9/11, and this can endanger counterterrorism programmes that depend on the partnership, the Washington Post writes.
Further deterioration is likely as Pakistain's military leadership has come under pressure from within its ranks to reduce ties with the United States.
Pakistain's Army Chief has recently faced pressure by fellow officers who asked him to explain why Pakistain supports US policy.
Another US official has told the Post that outspokenness to top officers is virtually unheard of in the strict Pak military hierarchy, and open criticism of
Kayani is something no Pak military commander has ever had to face before.
The official has said the pressure that Kayani is under now should not be underestimated.
Five Paks who provided the CIA with information about the late Osama bin Laden's... who went titzup one dark and stormy night...
compound in Abbottabad have recently been placed in long-term storage by Pakistain's government.
The arrests were seen as a clear eviden of disconnect between Pakistain and US priorities and growing tensions between the two countries.
The fate of the five Paks placed in long-term storage including a Pakistain Army major is not clear, but there were reports that CIA Director Leon Panneta has raised the issue during his recent visit to Islamabad.
US politicians on Wednesday expressed outrage on the arrests as Pakistain is under huge pressure to act honestly in the fight against terrorism.
As bad boy groups have stepped up attacks in Pakistain, the country has also been calling on the US to stop its covert drone attacks that has largely been criticised by Pak officials and people who have staged protests against US drone strikes.
Also the Deputy CIA director Michael J. Morell rated Pakistain's cooperation with the US on counterterrorism operations 3 on a scale of 1 to 10 at the Senate Intelligence Committee.
But American officials have cautioned that Mr Morell's comments about Pak support was a snapshot of the current relationship, and did not represent the administration's overall assessment, the Times further writes.