CIA: No Plans to Withdraw Islamabad Station Chief

Officials Say Media Reported Name Inaccurate

CIA officials announced today that they have no intentions to withdraw the Islamabad station chief from Pakistan, despite media reports officials believe were an attempt by the Zardari government to “out” him.

Reports coming out today say that the Pakistani media got the name wrong, though of course the secretive US spy agency did not provide an accurate name. It is not the first time a CIA official in Pakistan was outed.

Indeed previously a lawsuit by Pakistani journalist Karim Khan named a number of US officials, including the CIA station chief. The chief was subsequently withdrawn from the nation.

Another top CIA official is also on the tip of everyone’s tongue in Pakistan: Raymond Davis. Though officials initially presented him as a consulate employee, it was eventually confirmed he was the de facto head of CIA operatives in Pakistan, before he was arrested on double murder charges in Lahore. He left the country after money was paid to the families of the two people he killed.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.