Author: Vaiju Naravane
Publication: The Hindu
Date: May 5, 2011
URL: http://www.hindu.com/2011/05/05/stories/2011050559590100.htm
Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani
said here on Wednesday it was "the failure of intelligence in the world,
not just in Pakistan but in the United States as well" in not locating
slain al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden so far.
Mr. Gilani made the remarks when asked by
reporters to explain the presence of Osama in Pakistan territory and that
too for several years.
After a meeting with French business leaders,
Mr. Gilani said Pakistan needed world help to combat its "number one
problem," that of terrorism. He asked the West to refrain from sending
out "negative messages" against his country. "International
security and the fight against terrorism are not the task of a single nation.
We need a global strategy to fight terror and we need the support of the whole
world."
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, in remarks
just hours before Mr. Gilani's arrival, said: "In our eyes, the Pakistani
position lacks clarity and I hope we shall have more clarity as a result of
this visit. It is a little difficult to imagine that the presence of a person
like bin Laden in a compound in a relatively small town could go unnoticed.
It's a subject that calls for questioning."
However, Mr. Juppe later softened his stand,
saying he raised the issue with Mr. Gilani over dinner.
"The reply was that it was a failure
of the Pakistani intelligence services, which they have addressed. I hope
this will be a turning point in the right direction. The Pakistani Prime Minister
assured me of his will to cooperate," Mr. Juppe told news channel France
24.
