CIA chief visits Pakistan for talks: official
ISLAMABAD: New CIA chief Leon Panetta was in Pakistan on Saturday for high-level talks focused on a massive review of US strategy in the war against militants in South Asia, a Pakistani official said.
Panetta, who was sworn in as head of the CIA last month, held talks with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and would meet President Asif Ali Zardari during the short visit on Sunday.
'It is his first visit as head of the CIA to the region, so he is looking to see what Pakistan is doing and how Pakistan views the ongoing review by the US administration,' said a Pakistani official on condition of anonymity.
Panetta also held talks with Lieutenant General Ahmad Shuja Pasha, the director general of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency.
The US embassy in Islamabad was not immediately reachable for comment.
US President Barack Obama has ordered a top-to-bottom review of his war policy in Afghanistan. Washington has declared Pakistan an integral part of its fight against Taliban and al Qaeda extremists in the region.
The top spy held talks Thursday in India, where an official said discussions focused on New Delhi's security concerns over Pakistan and Afghanistan, particularly in the wake of last November's Mumbai attacks.
India has accused the banned Pakistan-based group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) of training, equipping and financing the 60-hour siege in which 10 gunmen killed 165 people.
According to the AFP, Panetta's visit follows trips by US National Intelligence Director John Michael McConnell and Federal Bureau of Investigation chief Robert Mueller.
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