Lalit K Jha

Washington, May 6 (PTI) As the discovery of al Qaeda chief in Pakistan raises fresh questions about US-Pakistan relations, newly released declassified documents have showed as early as 1998 American officials concluded that Islamabad "is not disposed to be especially helpful on the matter of terrorist Osama bin Ladin".

The National Security Archive said that according to previously secret US documents, Pakistani officials repeatedly refused to act on the Bin Laden problem, despite mounting pressure from American authorities.

Instead, in the words of a US Embassy cable, Pakistani sources "all took the line that the issue of bin Laden is a problem the US has with the Taliban, not with Pakistan."

The documents in this compilation -- part of the National Security Archive's developing Osama Bin Laden File -- were obtained by the Archive through the Freedom of Information Act.

They reveal a history of "disappointment that Pakistan ...