Elements in ISI have dual loyalty: US lawmaker

“There was a feeling that we got more from the relationships than we lost,that on balance,Pakistan because of its strategic position,its possession of nuclear weapons,the access that it did have to intelligence that this was a relationship that on balance was in our favour,” he said.

He said the fact that the ISI maintained its headquarters so close to bin Laden’s hiding place in a neighbourhood populated by prominent retired military and intelligence officials,and to learn that for six years bin Laden was living in that compound raises questions.

He said it raises possibility that there was a direct facilitation by elements of the Pakistani government or the Pakistani intelligence is “entirely inept”.

He added the latter has not been the case over the years.

“In fact,some of us raised the issue – does the ISI spent more time tracking down members of the CIA than it does members of al-Qaeda? So this is really a crossroads.

“I believe,in our relationship with Pakistan. “We’ve had,as I said,good days and bad days with Pakistan. They are,I believe,essential to the success of the war against terrorism,but we cannot allow situations to exist where the most notorious terrorist mass murderer in the world was literally living right under the nose of top Pakistani government officials,” the lawmaker said.