Pakistan's defense minister says the U.S. has accused Pakistan'sintelligence agency of sharing information with militants in thecountry's tribal region.
Ahmed Mukhtar said U.S. PresidentGeorge Bush told Pakistani officials that Pakistan's Inter-ServicesIntelligence (ISI) agency was giving militants information on possibleU.S. attacks before they occurred.
Mukhtar told Pakistan's GEOtelevision network Thursday that Mr. Bush made the remarks during thisweek's meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani at theWhite House. Mukhtar was at the meeting and said President Bush alsoasked the Pakistani delegation who was controlling the ISI.
Wednesday,the newspaper reported the deputy director of the U.S.Central Intelligence Agency, Stephen Kappes, secretly traveled toPakistan earlier this month to present evidence tying the ISI toTaliban commander Jalauddin Haqqani.
Major-General Athar Abbas, a Pakistani army spokesman, said the newspaper's allegations were baseless.
PrimeMinister Gilani also denied the report, telling U.S. television network PBS Tuesday that claimed links between militants and the ISI are "notbelievable."