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Rediff.com  » News » Osama effect: Pak general cancels US visit

Osama effect: Pak general cancels US visit

Source: PTI
May 13, 2011 14:48 IST
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Pakistan's second highest-ranking military official has cancelled a five-day visit to the United States against the backdrop of heightened tensions between the two countries over the American raid that killed Osama bin Laden last week.

Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman Gen Khalid Shameem Wynne, who was scheduled to travel to the US on May 22, had called off his visit, unnamed military officials were quoted as saying by TV news channels.

Wynne contacted his US counterpart, Admiral Mike Mullen, and informed him that the visit could not go ahead under the prevailing circumstances, the military officials were quoted as saying.

There was no official word on the development.

Like army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Wynne is a four-star general.

He had been invited to visit the US by Mullen and the trip was scheduled some months ago.

Wynne's decision came in the wake of Thursday's decision by the defence committee of the cabinet to review counter-terrorism cooperation with the US in the aftermath of the US raid that killed the Al Qaeda chief in the garrison city of Abbottabad on May 2.

The military and intelligence set-up has come in for sharp criticism from Western powers for its failure to detect bin Laden when he was hiding in a city that is home to thousands of soldiers while the Pakistani public has slammed the armed forces for their perceived helplessness during the US raid.

Pakistan's civil and military leadership said they were not informed by the US about the raid against bin Laden and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Thursday the operation should have been conducted jointly with Pakistan.

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