Bush ticks off Pak PM: Who controls ISI?

The US president expressed annoyance over ISI-terrorists nexus (Agencies)
ISLAMABAD: An "annoyed" US president, George Bush, has confronted Pakistan's PM over ISI leaking intelligence, shared by Washington, to militants and quizzed him on who was controlling the spy agency.

Pakistan, which has reacted angrily to recent calls for direct US military strikes or "hot pursuit" of militants thriving in its tribal areas, has been harping on the need for the American intelligence agencies to share information so that it can carry out operations against the extremists.

However, Bush during his meeting with prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday said that Washington is reluctant to share intelligence with Islamabad because people in ISI are passing on such information to militants, Pakistan's defence minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar was quoted as saying by Pakistani newspapers on Thursday.

Bush told Gilani and his delegation that the US believed ISI had established deep ties with militants operating in Pakistan's tribal areas, some officials present in the meeting said.

Bush expressed "concern and some annoyance" about ISI's role, the minister told the News. "President Bush also asked who is controlling ISI?" Mukhtar said.

This was apparently a reference to the recent controversy over a move to place the spy agency under the interior ministry. The government notification in this regard was withdrawn after the powerful army and the presidency objected to the move.

The US president complained that intelligence shared with Pakistan was leaked by "certain elements" in ISI to terrorists much before they could be attacked by American or Pakistani forces. This was a cause of concern for the US, Bush was quoted as saying by Mukhtar.

However, during his appearance on a Public Broadcasting Service, Gilani rejected as "not believable" assertions about ISI's links with militants. "We would not allow that," he said.