Pakistan denies giving China access to US chopper wreckage

Islamabad, Aug 16: The Pakistani military on Tuesday, Aug 16 rejected reports in the Western media that it gave China access to the top secret stealth helicopter that crashed during the covert American raid that killed Osama bin Laden in May.

Reacting to the media reports that quoted unnamed US officials as saying that Pakistan gave China access to the wreckage of the helicopter despite requests from the CIA not to do so, Inter-Services Public Relations chief Maj Gen Athar Abbas said, "The assertion made is not true and therefore we reject this report."

Abbas expressed surprise at the extent of "kite flying" that some sections of the foreign media was indulging in. He criticised a section of the foreign media for "launching a malicious campaign against Pakistan's security organisations".

He asked the media "to verify and cross check" matters rather than relying on "unnamed officials".

During the raid against al-Qaeda chief bin Laden on May 2, a Black Hawk helicopter modified with stealth technology malfunctioned and crashed. It was destroyed with explosives by US commandos but its tail section was largely left intact.

The media reports said Pakistan, which enjoys a close military relationship with China, allowed Chinese officials to take pictures of the tail section and samples of its special "skin" that allowed the helicopter to evade radar.

The Financial Times daily reported that Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani had denied that China had been given access to the helicopter. The tail section was returned to the US after a trip to Islamabad by Senator John Kerry in May.

PTI