CIA may use media cover to continue its activities

Amid growing mistrust between Washington and Islamabad after the unilateral Abbottabad operation of May 2, the American intelligence is planning to change its modus operandi by replacing its operatives with under cover media organizations to continue their activities in Pakistan.
There are widespread speculations that suggest that the US secret agency may use a new cover to have its people in Pakistan and open bureau offices of different American newspapers, television channels and other media organizations, intelligence sources revealed to this scribe on Monday evening.
They were of the view that after Abbottabad operation, Pakistani authorities took a firm stance to sent the CIA officials back to America and bring training and all other activities to a halt. Resultantly, many training and facilitation centres of the CIA were closed and the CIA operatives were asked to leave the country, they added. Pakistan has time and again declined the US request to allow the CIA operatives to stay in the country and continue their activities, which is one of the reasons that the US is resorting to a different plan, sources maintained.
They said that not only the CIA operatives, but the US regular troops were asked to leave the country and their number is now at the lowest ebb. Since the US is not ready to completely close its secret operations in Pakistan, there are apprehensions that it will now push CIA operatives under the cover of media activists, intelligence sources said, adding that in past they used the cover of Blackwater, Xe Services, International NGOs and aid workers, which did not prove much effective.
The new cover will provide CIA operatives easy access to many places where they were earlier unable to penetrate effectively, sources said. In past the US had hired the services of notorious Blackwater World-wide, which was renamed as Xe Services to facilitate the CIA in its operation in Pakistan, particularly in the Federal Capital and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Xe Services had hired hundreds of houses in Islamabad and Peshawar (over 280 only in Islamabad) and they were reportedly found involved in supporting terrorists in Pakistan.