No Pak leader knew Osama was in Pakistan: Hillary Clinton

Islamabad: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that no one in the Pakistan leadership knew that Osama bin Laden was in Pakistan. Her comments came after a meeting with top civilian and military leadership of Pakistan on Friday.

"There is absolutely no evidence that anyone at the highest levels of the Pakistani government knew that Osama bin Laden was living just miles from where we are today. And we know that Al Qaeda has been a source of great pain and suffering to the leadership that has been in every way attempting to eradicate the threat that is posed," she said during her address at the US Embassy in Islamabad.

Clinton is on a visit to Pakistan to mend ties in the wake of the killing of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad on May 2.

The US Secretary of State, however, asked Pakistan to take "decisive" steps against terrorists operating from its soil.

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"We will do our part and we look to the government of Pakistan to take decisive steps in the days ahead," she said.

She described her being in Pakistan "especially important" because US-Pak ties "have reached a turning point.

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Even though she said no nation had paid a higher price to terrorism than Pakistan, Clinton added, "We both recognise there is still much more work required and it's urgent."

Clinton also said Pakistan needed to understand that anti-Americanism and conspiracy theories will not end its problems.

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