US President George W Bush expressed his concern and some annoyance with Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani over the role of the ISI in Pakistan.

Defence Minister, Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, who was also present at the meeting, said that Bush expressed concern that certain elements in the ISI were leaking information to the terrorists before they could be hit by the US or Pakistani forces. This is a cause of concern for the US side, he added.

Ahmed Mukhtar said the meeting otherwise was held in good atmosphere, and the US administration looked committed to support the civilian set-up.

“President Bush also asked who is controlling the ISI,” the minister said, indicating that Bush was probably aware of the fiasco created by the failed attempt by the Ministry of Interior to take control of the ISI through a notification shortly before PM Gilani arrived in Washington.

Another source said Bush agreed with the Pakistani point of view that all parties in the Afghan conflict, the NATO forces, Pakistan and Afghanistan should take equal responsibility of meeting the terrorist threats. “Bush agreed that specific tasks must be identified for each party to meet and then the performance of each party should be assessed. Accusations against each other should not be levelled publicly,” Bush was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, the CIA confronted senior Pakistani officials with evidence showing that members of the country’s spy service have deepened their ties with some militant groups responsible for a surge of violence, possibly including the suicide bombing of the Indian Embassy in Kabul, The New York Times reported.

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