ISLAMABAD, June 24 (IANS/AKI): A mobile phone seized from Osama bin Laden's hideout contains evidence of contacts between Pakistan's intelligence agency and a militant group used by the Al-Qaeda leader "as part of his support network inside the country", according to the New York Times.
Citing unnamed sources who briefed the Times, the report said the Harakat-ul-Mujahideen militant group maintained contact with the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and may have even held meetings.
The sources said there was no "smoking gun" to prove the ISI directly protected the Al-Qaeda leader and kept secret his whereabouts in the compound in Abbottabad near Islamabad.
The ISI has deflected allegations that it has protected Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants.
The May 2 US commando raid on Osama's hideout in Abbottabad city, barely 120 km from Islamabad, without Pakistani authorisation or knowledge deeply embarrassed Islamabad.
