Frontline Pakistan : The Struggle With Militant Islam - Arz-e-Pak

2
Volte-FaCe
o n the morning of 11 September 2001, Lt.-General Mahmood Ahmed,
the chief of the ISI, was at a breakfast meeting on Capitol Hill in
Washington with Senator Bob Graham and Congressman Porter Goss,
the chairmen of the Senate and House Intelligence committees. Also
present there were Senator John Kyle and Pakistan’s ambassador to
Washington, Maleeha Lodhi. As they talked about terrorism, specifically
about bin Laden, a member of Senator Graham’s staff informed them
about the planes hitting the World Trade Center. The meeting continued
until one plane was reported heading towards Capitol Hill and evacuation
was ordered. General Mahmood expressed his deep sympathy to the
people of the USA before the five hurriedly dispersed. 1
General Mahmood had been due to return that evening after
completing his week-long official visit to Washington, but his departure
was delayed as all the airports were closed after the terrorist attacks.
He had arrived in Washington on 4 September on the invitation of the
CIA chief for routine consultations with senior US officials. The CIA
and the ISI, erstwhile partners in the covert war against Soviet forces
in Afghanistan in the 1980s, had maintained close contact despite the
low in the relations between Washington and Islamabad that had
followed the USA’s nuclear-related sanctions on Pakistan in 1990.