New York, April 8, 2013-In a secret deal, Pakistan allowed US drone strikes on its soil on the condition that the unmanned aircraft would stay away from its nuclear facilities and the mountain camps where Kashmiri militants were trained for attacks in India, according to a media report.
Under secret negotiations between Pakistani intelligence agency ISI and the US’s CIA during 2004, the terms of the bargain were set, the New York Times reported on Sunday.
Pakistani intelligence officials insisted that drones fly only in narrow parts of the tribal areas ensuring that they won’t venture where Islamabad did not want the Americans going: Pakistan’s nuclear facilities, and the mountain camps where Kashmiri militants were trained for attacks in India, the paper said.
Pakistani officials insisted that they be allowed to approve each drone strike, giving them tight control over the list of targets. The deal was reached after CIA agreed to kill tribal warlord Nek Muhammad who was marked by Islamabad as an enemy, the daily reported.
