ISLAMABAD – Apart from telling them that Afghan police were fighting alongside terrorists in Pakistan, Interior Minister Rehman Malik also told the Americans in September 2009 that Osama Bin Laden could be in Iran, Saudi Arabia or Yemen.
This was revealed by a WikiLeaks’ released diplomatic cable sent by the then US ambassador to Pakistan Anne W Patterson on September, 10, 2009 to Washington. Rehman Malik complained about the involvement of Afghanistan, India and Iran in terrorist activities in Pakistan in his meeting with US diplomats including Adam Smith (D-WA), Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and Bobby Bright (D-AL) held on September 7, 2009.
“Malik told the CODEL that Indians are training Baloch separatists and claimed that Pakistan has arrested Afghan police fighting alongside terrorists, but chose not to make this public. Iran, he said, is supplying arms and providing funds to Pakistan’s Shia extremists,” says the diplomatic memo.
The diplomatic cable reveals that according to Rehman Malik, Osama Bin Laden could be in Iran, Saudi Arabia and Yemen or might be dead. “Representative Giffords asked Malik whether he had information about the whereabouts of Osama Bin Laden. Malik responded that he “had no clue,” but added that he did not believe that Bin Laden is in the area.
