Washington: Asserting that the ISI has become inimical to the interests of the US and Pakistan, a leading US daily has asked Washington to seek the removal of Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha as its chief and slap sanctions against its officials involved in terror activities.
"The United States needs to use its influence to hasten Mr. Pasha?s departure," The New York Times said in its editorial Friday.
"It should tell Pakistan’s security leadership that if Washington identifies anyone in ISI or the army as abetting terrorists, those individuals will face sanctions like travel bans or other measures. The ISI has become inimical to Pakistani and American interests, the influential American daily underlined.
The strong editorial comes a day after Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the Pakistan government might have sanctioned the killing of the noted Pakistani journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad.
The Times in a lead story early this week had said that the Obama administration now has evidence implicating the ISI in this brutal killing.
"American officials say new intelligence indicates that senior ISI officials ordered the attack on Mr. Shahzad to silence him. Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, confirmed on Thursday that Pakistan’s government `sanctioned` the killing, but he did not tie it directly to ISI," it said.
The NYT said the murder will make journalists and other critics of the regime "even more reluctant to expose politically sensitive news".
"The ISI is also proving to be an increasingly dangerous counterterrorism partner for the United States,? The Times said.
PTI
