Needle of suspicion pointing towards Pak Army, ISI over Osama's support network

Washington, May 5(ANI): American and European intelligence officials increasingly believe that active or retired Pakistani military or intelligence officials provided some measure of aid to Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, allowing him to stay hidden in a large compound just a mile from the Pakistan Military Academy. Two senior US officials and a high-level European military-intelligence official, who have direct working knowledge of Pakistan's military intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI), say that similar elements linked to the ISI have aided other Pakistan-based terror groups, the Haqqani militant network and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). "There's no doubt he [bin Laden] was protected by some in the ISI," The Wall Street Journal quoted the European official, as saying. The officials said they believe these ISI elements include some current and former intelligence and military operatives with long-standing ties to al Qaeda and other militant groups. The officials did not offer specific evidence, but pointed to the town's proximity to the capital and its high concentration of current and former military and intelligence officers, said the report, adding that they said that aid to bin Laden likely included intelligence tips to help keep the terrorist ahead of his American pursuers. The suspicions cast light on where the United States is expected to focus as it investigates who might have helped bin Laden hide in plain sight in Abbottabad, the report said. "We obviously are interested in finding out the details of the support network that obviously helped Mr. bin Laden hide in Abbottabad... we will work to find out as much as we can about how that happened," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said during a briefing. Meanwhile, Pakistan denies that it knew of bin Laden's whereabouts or sheltered him. (ANI)