Musharraf denies he knew bin Laden was living in Pakistan

Islamabad, Jan 8: Pakistan's former President General Pervez Musharraf has denied having knowledge about the al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden living in his country during his tenure.

In his first ever interview to an Israeli daily, Ha'aretz, Musharraf insisted on his innocence and said he was 100 per cent sure about himself that he did not know he (Osama bin Laden) was there. "I am very sure about my answer. Especially so because when they say bin Laden was there for five years, that means two years under my watch. Well, one cannot be sure of others, but one can be sure of oneself. And I am 100 percent sure of myself that I did not know he was there," Musharraf said when asked about Bin laden's presence.

"I say the question is, was there complicity or negligence? And I strongly believe it was negligence. Of course, that's not great either, it's terrible negligence and shameful. But, while both are bad - complicity would be worse," said the former President, who became a key ally of western in fight against terror post 9/11.

"I don't have any doubt of that. I know there was no complicity for those two years. And perhaps there was complicity during the latter three years, but I don't believe that either. It's not possible. It was negligence," he argued.

PTI