Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Asim Saleem Bajwa has categorically rejected the New York Times report in which the newspaper alleged that ISI knew about Osama bin Laden’s presence in Abbotabad.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the DG ISPR called the allegations baseless and ridiculous. He further said that Carlotta Gal’s report has nothing new or credible in it. All are speculations that have already been proven false.
The article composed of excerpts from Gall’s upcoming book alleged that the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) had established a special desk to handle late Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
The New York Times article claimed that that the desk “was operated independently, led by an officer who made his own decisions and did not report to a superior. He handled only one person: Bin Laden.”
The article cited a Pakistani official who claimed the US had direct evidence of the then ISI chief Lt. General Ahmed Shuja Pasha being aware of Osama bin Laden’s presence in Abbottabad. The Pakistani official told Carlotta Gall that he was “surprised to learn this and the Americans were even more so.” According to the official, Pasha had been an opponent of the Taliban and “an open and cooperative counterpart for the Americans at the ISI.”
