Suspected US operatives leave Pakistan

Raymond Davis arrest leads to exodus of special Americans on covert missions in Pakistan.

At least 30 suspected covert US operatives have suspended their activities in Pakistan and 12 have left the country following the arrest of CIA contractor Raymond Davis late last month,according to a media

report on Monday.

In the wake of Davis’ arrest in Lahore on January 27 for gunning down two men,Pakistan’s intelligence agencies began scrutinising records of Americans living in the country and discovered “several discrepancies”.

This caused “many suspected American operatives to maintain a low profile and others to leave the country altogether”,The Express Tribune newspaper quoted its sources as saying.

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The Foreign Ministry states there are 851 Americans with diplomatic immunity in Pakistan,of whom 297 are not working in a diplomatic capacity. Sources in the Interior Ministry told the daily that the number of US non-diplomats is 414.

The majority of these “special Americans”,as the Interior Ministry refers to them,are concentrated in Islamabad,while others live in Karachi,Lahore and Peshawar.