The liaison centers, also known as intelligence fusion cells, in Quetta and Peshawar are the main conduits for the United States to share satellite imagery, target data and other intelligence with Pakistani ground forces conducting operations against militants, including Taliban fighters who slip into Afghanistan.
US special operations units have relied on the three facilities, two in Peshawar and one in Quetta, to help coordinate operations on both sides of the Pakistan and Afghan border, senior US officials said. The U.S. units are now being withdrawn from all three sites, and the centers are being shut down.
The decision has not affected the CIA's ability to launch missiles from drone aircraft in northwest Pakistan. U.S. Secretary of state Clinton is visiting Pakistan to smooth relations between the two countries which are all time low. Anti American sentiment is all time high and people of Pakistan want United States to leave it alone.
No comments:
Post a Comment