ISI chief secretly visits China

As the Pak-US military and intelligence ties continue to deteriorate, the Pakistani ISI chief Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha flew to China on a secret trip, as part of Islamabad’s wider efforts to reduce its dependence on Washington and open a broad-based strategic dialogue with Beijing.

The ISI chief’s visit comes on the heels of the sudden departure of the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) station chief in Islamabad who had to leave on the insistence of the Pakistani establishment in the wake of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden.

Last month Lt Gen Wahid Arshad, the Chief of General Staff, undertook a week-long trip to China to discuss what the officials in Islamabad described as the option of a strategic dialogue between the two countries on the pattern of the engagement between Pakistan and the US.”

 However, the ISI has refused to confirm or deny the visit. A senior official of the intelligence agency said such visits are classified and that he could not comment on it. Due to tensions with the US, Pakistani officials look to Beijing, a historical ally of Islamabad.

“China is our long-term partner and we have very close cooperation and consultation with them on all major issues including the ongoing tension with US,” said a senior military official in Rawalpindi, while requesting anonymity. Another official said enhanced strategic partnership with China does not necessarily mean that “we want any confrontation with the US. We cannot afford a complete breakdown of our relationship with the US.”