Islamabad: Cell phones recovered from the killed insurgents who had attacked the US embassy in Kabul last week have revealed that the phones were used to call Pakistani intelligence operatives before and during the assault.
The evidence led US Joint Chiefs of Staff chief Admiral Mike Mullen to announce in public that the Haqqani network is a "veritable arm" of Pakistani intelligence, CBS News reports.
The attack on the US Embassy and NATO`s Afghan headquarters resulted in a 22-hour firefight, leading to the killing of 16 people. The buildings in the embassy compound were damaged.
It was reported yesterday that American commander General John Allen had personally asked Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez to halt a truck bomb two days before an explosion wounded 77 US troops at a base in Wardak, 50 miles southwest of Kabul.
In reply, General Kayani offered to “make a phone call” to stop the assault on the US base in Wardak province.
But his failure to use the American intelligence to prevent the attack has fuelled a blazing row between the US and Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, who is in New York for the UN General Assembly meeting, denied accusations that her country had attacked the embassy, calling them "exceptionally hostile."
"We are part of the solution. We are not part of the problem. And if you continue to drive us in the other direction, unfortunately you will not only alienate the government of Pakistan, which is reaching out to you, which has been a worthy ally. I`m more concerned you will alienate the 180 million Pakistanis that your government always talks about reaching out to," Khar added.
ANI
