WASHINGTON (Reuters) – An aide to Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the center of a corruption probe is on the CIA payroll, The New York Times reported, citing Afghan and U.S. officials.

Mohammed Zia Salehi, an Afghan National Security Council official, appears to have been paid by the U.S. spy agency for many years, officials in Kabul and Washington told the Times.

The Times said it was unclear whether Salehi was being paid for information, or to advance U.S. views inside the Karzai administration, or both.

Salehi was arrested by Afghan police in July but released after Karzai intervened.

Salehi's relationship with the CIA underscores deep contradictions at the heart of the Obama administration's policy in Afghanistan, the newspaper said.

Karzai is under pressure from the Obama administration to do more to root out corruption in his government to shore up the legitimacy of his
government.

Washington believes a successful counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan hinges on winning Afghan public support for the government in Kabul and sidelining the Taliban.