Abbottabad, May 04: Pakistan’s president said accusations that his nation extends safe haven to extremists were “baseless” and insisted its long-term help was crucial to the US triumph in killing Osama Bin Laden.
Asif Ali Zardari’s defense came after the US warned it would probe how Al-Qaeda’s kingpin managed to live in undetected luxury in Pakistan. Obama’s top anti-terror adviser John Brennan said it was “inconceivable” that Bin Laden did not enjoy a support network in Pakistan.
In an opinion piece written for Tuesday’s Washington Post, Zardari said the criticism was groundless.
“Some in the US press have suggested that Pakistan lacked vitality in its pursuit of terrorism, or worse yet that we were disingenuous and actually protected the terrorists we claimed to be pursuing,” Zardari said. “Such baseless speculation may make exciting cable news, but it doesn’t reflect fact.”
In a statement from the presidency, Zardari said Bin Laden twice attempted to kill his wife — former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. “Al-Qaeda and Taleban were directly responsible for Benazir’s assassination,” he claimed. “Twice he tried to assassinate my wife. In 1989, he poured $50 million into a no-confidence vote to topple her first government. She said she was Bin Laden’s worst nightmare. She was right, and she paid for it with her life.”
Recalling Pakistan’s contribution to the war on terror and the price it paid, Zardari said: “More of our soldiers have died than all of NATO’s casualties combined. Two thousand police officers, as many as 30,000 innocent civilians and a generation of social progress for our people have been lost.”
Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani sidestepped questions over how Bin Laden had gone undetected, according to AFP. Referring to Bin Laden as “that gentleman,” Gilani said that the villa near Abbottabad was in a “remote area” out of reach of the army’s main bases.
Meanwhile, Congress may consider cutting the almost $1.3 billion in annual US aid to Pakistan if it turns out the Islamabad government knew where Bin Laden was hiding, the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee said Tuesday.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat, said she wants more details from CIA director Leon Panetta and others about the Pakistani government’s role, The Associated Press reported.
The No. 2 House Democratic leader, Rep. Steny Hoyer, said if Pakistan does not ease doubts about its dedication to fighting terrorists, Congress should explore whether it makes sense to reduce US aid to that country.
Incredulous lawmakers are pressing Pakistan for answers to two simple questions: What did its army and intelligence agents know of Bin Laden’s whereabouts and when did they know it? But leaders in both Afghanistan and India have said Bin Laden’s discovery so close to Islamabad vindicated their claims of double-dealing by Pakistan’s military and intelligence powerbrokers.
British Prime Minister David Cameron said Bin Laden must have had an “extensive” support network in Pakistan in the years before his death. Cameron said Britain would ask “searching questions” about the extent of the network.
And French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said the fact that Bin Laden went completely unnoticed showed that Pakistan’s position on the late Al-Qaeda leader “lacks clarity.”
Bin Laden was unarmed when he was confronted by US commandos at his hideout, but tried to resist the assault, the White House said Tuesday.
The White House said it was considering whether to release photos that were taken after Bin Laden was killed, but was concerned that the photos were “gruesome” and could be inflammatory.
Meanwhile, Deputy Interior Minister Prince Ahmed said: “Bin Laden was an evil that has now ended. He was an evil for himself, his family and all Arabs and Muslims. He was not holding Saudi citizenship for several years.” According to SPA, Prince Ahmed highlighted the connections of terrorist groups with internal and external parties. He reiterated the Kingdom’s call for a global anti-terrorism center.
-Agencies