US, Pakistan in a war of words over Osama

HUNT FOR OSAMA: US intelligence seems to have made its own assessment that Osama is in Pakistan.

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New Delhi: Where is al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden? This is a question, which pops up without fail every now and then. And then starts the blame game with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf saying he's in Afghanistan and President Hamid Karzai saying he is in Pakistan, even giving locations.

But US intelligence seems to have made its own assessment that the al-Qaeda supremo is in Pakistan.

“He is in the tribal region of Pakistan. I think he's in that region,” Director of US National Intelligence, Mike McConnell said.

In an interview with the CNN news network, US Homeland Security Adviser Fran Townsend even said, “United States would use all our instruments of national power to be effective to kill bin Laden and other high-ranking al-Qaeda leaders."

But in the process Washington has now ruffled feathers in Islamabad.

Meanwhile, Pakistan's Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao quickly rejected the US claim of Osama's presence in Pakistan. And an angry Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri warned that any US incursion on Pakistani territory would be a mistake.

“This is irresponsible. Pakistan is committed so what one wants is evidence. Let the United States provide us with actionable intelligence and you will find that Pakistan will never be lacking,” Kasuri said firmly.

Meanwhile, US strikes on Pakistan, many parts of which are not under Islamabad's control, will open several flanks for America against pro-Taliban leaders in south Waziristan, anti-US tribal leaders in the north western frontier provinces and al-Qaeda operatives already existing in large numbers along the border with Afghanistan.

Washington’s remarks may have already opened a can of worms with the military establishment in Pakistan. And such issues are making things more difficult for a President already mired in problems with politicians, the judiciary and Islamic radicals after the Lal Masjid episode.

(With inputs from Shuchi Yadav)