The Spy Who Came into the Heat

WASHINGTON: Long-time US "ally" Pakistan has broken the spy world’s unwritten compact by publicly identifying the CIA Station Chief in Islamabad in an act that has sent ripples through the American espionage community, including the famed Agency headquarters in Langley, Virginia.CIA Station Chiefs are typicallyundercover spies whose covert presence in US embassies is sometimes known tofriendly host governments; but they are seldom recognized byname.However, in a brazen blowing of cover, reportedly at the instance of a disaffected section of the Pakistani spy agency ISI, a Pakistani citizen from North Waziristan who lost family members in a US Drone attack has filed a criminal complaint in an Islamabad police station against an American individual named Jonathan Banks, saying he is the CIA Station Chief in Islamabad who is coordinating the Drone attacks. According to Karim Khan, aresident of Mir Ali Tehsil of North Waziristan, he lost his brother, Asif Iqbal,a teacher in a secondary school, his son Zahinullah Khan, and Khaliq Dar, amason, in a drone attack on December 31, 2009. Khan, the Pakistani paper DailyTimes reported, alleged that Banks, who was residing at the US embassy in theDiplomatic Enclave, and has a business visa, was the CIA chief in Pakistan andcontrolled the drone attacks through Global Positioning System.The US administration -- much less the CIA -- does not acknowledge the existence of "Station Chiefs," a term that is still current, unlike its Cold War counterpart, the "KGB Resident." But their continuation is common knowledge in intelligence circles, although they often function undercover, sometimes not even using their real names.While some station chiefs are seldom seen, others aremore public. For instance, the CIA Station Chief in Kabul is often referred toby his nickname "Spider," and is often in the company of Afghan President HamidKarzai, functioning both as his bodyguard and his confidante. Milt Bearden, themost famous CIA Station Chief in Islamabad during the US-backed Afghan war onthe Soviet Union, was named only after the conflict ended.But thepurported falling out between Washington and Islamabad at the height of the waron terror has had its fall-out in the spy world.According to reportsin the Pakistani media, police advised Khan to get an order from the court forthe registration of an FIR. When he did that, the Secretariat police station inIslamabad, after getting advice from the legal branch, registered a reportagainst Banks.How Khan came to know Banks’ name and cover isunclear, but the suspicion centers on disaffected elements in the Pakistaniintelligence community. Following the FIR, the Pakistani litigant appealed tothe authorities "not to let Banks escape from Pakistan," and said "he should bearrested and executed in this country." He also sought a $ 500 millioncompensation.The incident comes months after a section of thePakistani media started publishing photographs and addresses of houses rented byAmerican diplomats in Pakistan, causing immense consternation in Washington at atime US is clearly in the crosshairs of terrorists, as much as the latter are inthe sights of predator attacks. Earlier this week, CIA Deputy Director MichaelMorell flew to Islamabad to raise this issue, among others, with Pakistani PrimeMinister Yousuf Raza Gilani, who has been exposed in Wikileaks cables asprivately supporting drone attacks while publicly criticizingthem.The sense in Washington is the government in Islamabad isincreasingly losing control of the ISI, even as it is running rings around theUnited States. Over the past year, the Pakistani officials have repeatedlyharassed U.S diplomats, and in many cases denied or delayed visas for newpostings and extensions for serving diplomats, in order to "punish" Washingtonfor getting close to India, a tactic that has been recorded by US officials incables to the State Department. Outing the CIA Station Chief appears to beanother dangerous gambit, the latest from Pakistan.