Islamabad, Oct 2 : Pakistani Government officials have expressed ‘surprise’ over the comments made by US Ambassador to Pakistan Anne W Patterson in an interview and said that there was a huge disconnect between Washington and its embassy in Islamabad.

In the interview, Patterson had said that the Taliban militants were hiding in Balochistan and coordinating anti-US operations from Quetta.

Deputy Chief of Mission at the US embassy, Gerald M Feierstein, also said that Osama bin Laden was alive and that the Taliban leadership, including Mullah Omar, was present in Quetta.

A senior official, who had went to attend UN General Assembly in New York said that the US administration were reluctant to confirm the claims that were made by its officials.

“In meetings at the highest level in New York recently, this issue of the Quetta Shura did not arise. A passing reference was made to old reports about Balochistan, but they
(US participants) insisted that they could not confirm the same,” The News quoted a Pakistan official as saying.

“No great concern was shown nor was there any mention of future strikes in Balochistan. We were asked to intensify our efforts but nothing of the sort that we are hearing from the US Embassy. There appears to be a very serious disconnect between Washington and the US Embassy here,” he added.

When questioned about the allegations, the Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman said: “This is all very speculative. Pakistan, as the world is acknowledging, has shown zero tolerance to terrorism. The US has passed real-time intelligence to Pakistan in the past and we have acted on it.”

“Similarly, if the US claims to have such intelligence about the Taliban activities in Quetta, then they should pass it on to us,” the spokesman added. (ANI)