Musharraf says no deal made to let US get bin Laden [May 10 2011]

Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf denied Tuesday that his administration struck an agreement with the United States years ago to let American special forces kill or capture Osama bin Laden inside Pakistan. The denial follows a report in a British newspaper that Washington and Islamabad reached a secret deal nearly a decade ago allowing the U.S. to conduct operations against bin Laden and two other top al-Qaida leaders on Pakistani soil.

"Pervez Musharraf has seen a media report, and let me make it clear that no such agreement had been signed during his tenure," said Musharrafs spokesman, Fawad Chaudhry. He said there was no oral agreement either. U.S. Navy SEALs conducted a unilateral operation May 2 inside Pakistan that killed bin Laden, the worlds most wanted terrorist. The pre-dawn raid was viewed by many Pakistanis as a national humiliation delivered by a deeply unpopular America.

In a report published Thursday, The Guardian newspaper, quoting U.S. officials and retired Pakistani officials, said Musharraf and former President George W. Bush struck the agreement after bin Laden escaped U.S. forces in the mountains of Tora Bora in late 2001. If such a raid were conducted, the agreement was that Pakistani officials would publicly denounce the U.S. unilateral action.