Washington should share information about Zawahiri: says Foreign Office

Islamabad dismissed US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s allegations Al-Qaeda chief, asking Washing to share intelligence information about Ayman al-Zawahiri’s presence in Pakistan.

Foreign Office spokesman Moazzam Khan while replying to a query observed, “These are all conjectures. If the US has any evidence, information or actionable intelligence, they should share it with us”.

Earlier, Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar expressed similar views, saying that the US should share intelligence with Pakistan if it had information about the presence of Ayman Al-Zawahiri.

She was quoted as saying, “Al-Qaeda is our enemy and if the US has any information about the presence of Al-Zawahiri in Pakistan it should share the information with us”. Pakistan had suffered a lot in the war on terror and the US was aware of it, she added.

Hillary Clinton, who is currently visiting India, stated that the US believed Zawahiri was somewhere in Pakistan. “The Obama administration was intent upon going after those who are trying to keep Al Qaeda operational and inspirational”, she asserted.

Clinton underscored that it was in Pakistan’s interest to pursue terrorists and militants who are operating inside the country.

It is vital to mention here that the US Secretary of State had made a similar claim about Osama bin Laden’s presence in Pakistan, back in 2010, almost a year before he was killed by US Navy Seals in a secret operation in the garrison town of Abbottabad.

Pakistan had rejected her statement on that occasion and the wording of the response was noticeably similar.

“Neither Mulla Omar nor Osama bin Laden is in Pakistan. If anyone has any credible and verifiable information, it should be shared with us,” was the response then.

Moazzam Khan responded to Clinton’s criticism that enough had not been done against Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) leader Hafiz Saeed, seeking evidence of his involvement in terrorism, which was good enough to stand in court of law.

He observed that their position on Hafiz Saeed is clear and they had independent and active judiciary.

Anyone should share it with Pakistan if they have proof against him, so that the courts can take action against it, he observed.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=21732

Posted by Faisal Farooq on May 8 2012. Filed under Latest News, National, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.