CIA hires Blackwater in Pakistan to track down Al-Qaeda.

The CIA has reportedly hired the infamous US security firm Blackwater on the Pakistan borders to help track down Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants.

The New York Times first reported Blackwater's involvement late Wednesday on its Web site.

The report said Blackwater executives helped with planning, training and surveillance for a secret program to kill top-level members of Al-Qaida.

"This is a huge threat for our national security," Hamid Mir, an Islamabad-based defense and security analyst.

Defense and security analysts argue that the presence of Blackwater would rather complicate the security situation in Pakistan.

"They are trying to establish their feet. They are hiding themselves under the diplomatic and FBI covers," an intelligence official said in anonymity for not being authorized to discuss the sensitive issue.

He said Blackwater has hired the services of some local security agencies to work for them.

The North Carolina-based security firm, established ten years ago by Erik Prince, a former Navy SEAL and a right-wing son of a multi-millionaire, gained world notoriety over involvement in dozens of unprovoked civilian killings in Iraq.

A recent US congressional report discovered Blackwater has been involved in 195 shooting incidents since 2005, mostly unprovoked.

The New York Times reported that the CIA did not have a formal contract with Blackwater for this program but instead had individual agreements with top company officials, including founder Erik D. Prince.