New Delhi, Oct. 25 -- A top-ranking CIA officer and whistleblower who exposed the agency's use of waterboarding to interrogate al-Qaeda terrorists has now made explosive revelations about US covert operations and Washington's ties with Pakistan, shedding light on the contours of a complicated relationship that shaped the regional balance of power in South Asia.

John Kiriakou, who served as the CIA's chief of counter-terrorism operations in Pakistan in 2002, made the bombshell claims in an interview with news agency ANI.

Here are some of the most explosive revelations by the former CIA man.

Kiriakou, a 15-year CIA veteran, said in the interview that when US and allied forces had 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden, traitor within the US mil...