Fresh tension has erupted between the CIA and Pakistani intelligence after several Pakistani media outlets published the alleged name of the CIA station chief in Islamabad.
Two senior Pakistani officials said the name published, Mark Carlton, was incorrect, but one said it was similar to the real one.
Despite the inaccuracy, publication of the name was seen as a sign of worsening relations between the two spy agencies a week after the death of Osama bin Laden in a garrison town north of Islamabad.
The CIA chief, Leon Panetta, said last week that he did not warn Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) about the raid because he feared the information could leak in advance, prompting furious ISI denials of complicity.
Publication of an American spy's name caused friction between the two agencies six months ago.
The previous station chief, Jonathan Banks, was identified in court papers and the media in December, causing him to leave Pakistan immediately. Some US officials blamed the ISI for the leak.
This time, the name was published by the private television station Ary One on Friday, then reprinted in the rightwing Nation newspaper on Saturday.
According to reports, "Mark Carlton" was given an angry reprimand by the ISI chief, General Shuja Pasha, over the operation to kill Bin Laden.
The published name sounded similar to the real one, a senior Pakistani official said, suggesting the leak had come from a lower-level ISI source rather from than the top.
"It sounds similar. Mike can be misheard as Mark," he said. "It sounds like something someone misheard in the corridor, perhaps someone who is ideological or not very well educated."
The official declined to give the real name. US media did not report the incorrect name, saying that the information remained classified under US law.
A senior ISI official said the agency did not release the name. "If you're asking, no we didn't," he said. Asked about the state of relations with the CIA, he declined to comment.
