Former CIA officer John Kiriakou has alleged that the United States effectively “purchased” former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf by funnelling millions of dollars in military and economic aid, effectively gaining control over Pakistan’s strategic decisions—including its nuclear arsenal.

Speaking to ANI, the ex-intelligence operative, who served 15 years in the CIA’s analytical and counterterrorism divisions, said that Washington found Musharraf a convenient partner due to his authoritarian style. “The United States loves working with dictators,” Kiriakou remarked, adding that Musharraf allowed the US broad freedom to operate within Pakistan.

Kiriakou claimed the relationship was transactional, with Musharraf allegedly granting Washington carte blanche in exchange for vast financial support. The former officer said, “We gave millions and millions of dollars… and essentially he would let us do whatever we wanted to do.”

According to him, Musharraf maintained a delicate balance between American demands and the interests of Pakistan’s powerful military establishment. To preserve his position, Musharraf is said to have “kept the military happy” by turning a blind eye to anti-India militant operations while publicly cooperating with Washington’s counterterrorism agenda.

He further implied that Pakistan continued covert terrorist activities against India even as it presented itself as a US ally in the post-9/11 war on terror, noting the heightened tensions following the December 2001 attack on India’s Parliament and the near-war crisis that followed in 2002.

Kiriakou expressed concern over Pakistan’s enduring political instability and violent power struggles, warning that internal divisions could again erupt into street unrest. “The country is not known for transformative leaders making positive decisions,” he observed grimly.

He also recounted what he termed a “Marie Antoinette moment” involving ex-Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto during her exile in Dubai. Describing her opulent lifestyle, Kiriakou recalled visiting her lavish Gulf residence and hearing her frustration over her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, purchasing “another Bentley.” He questioned how such leaders could claim to represent a population struggling with poverty and basic deprivation.

“Benazir earned about $60,000 a year, yet lived in a $5 million mansion,” he recounted, calling it emblematic of Pakistan’s entrenched corruption. “Aren’t they ashamed of themselves?” he asked, lamenting that ordinary Pakistanis must endure such self-serving leadership.

Drawing on former President Musharraf’s own writings, Kiriakou referenced passages from In the Line of Fire, where Musharraf admitted reversing Islamabad’s Taliban policy after realising Pakistan could not survive a military confrontation with the US. Musharraf wrote that his assessment concluded Pakistan would be “wiped out militarily,” lose economic sustainment, and lack the necessary national unity to withstand American retaliation.

Kiriakou’s candid remarks have reignited debates over Pakistan’s political corruption, its military’s influence over foreign policy, and the controversial depth of US involvement in the country’s internal affairs during the early 2000s.

Based On ANI Report