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Hours behind Osama: ISI

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD MARCH 11. Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has claimed that its agents were hours behind Osama bin Laden. At a briefing, a senior intelligence officer, told the western media: "We were months behind, then weeks and now hours behind him (Osama)" The briefing follows the clues given by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, suspected third top Al-Qaeda man, following his arrest from a posh locality in Rawalpindi on March 1.

While confirming that Mohammed had met Osama in December last, the officer said, the Al-Qaeda operative, however, did not disclose where he met Osama, during his custody with the ISI for three days. Agents of the U.S. were present that time.

Pakistan had been agitated over reports in a section of the western press that Mohammed had met Osama sometime in February in Rawalpindi. It was also upset over reports casting doubts on the account of capture of Mohammed. Partly, the doubts arose after the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) alleged that Mohammed was arrested from some place and shown to be have been captured from the house of one of its members. The party had described it as a conspiracy to defame it.

The ISI however, was at pains today to emphasise that its optimism about the net closing in on Osama did not mean he was hiding somewhere in Pakistan. The Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, has repeatedly claimed that it would not be possible for someone like Osama to take shelter in Pakistan.

The ISI said Mohammed had letters in his possession that he said were written by Osama. At the briefing a videotape on the arrest of Mohammed was played. About 18 officials of the ISI were shown arresting Mohammed.

CNN, quoting an ISI official had said the operation was totally conducted by Pakistani agencies and no foreigner was involved in the operation.

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