ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON: The United States was hoping Tuesday to question the detained three wives of Osama Bin Laden although Pakistani officials played down the possibility of any speedy access, saying no decision had been made. US investigators, who have been sifting through a huge stash of material seized on May 2 after US special forces killed Bin Laden in his Pakistani hideout, want to question his wives as they seek to trace his movements and his network. A Pakistani decision to allow US investigators to question the women could begin to stabilise relations between the allies that have been severely strained by the killing of the Al-Qaeda leader. A US official said in Washington Monday Pakistan appeared ready to grant access to the wives who were detained by Pakistani authorities at Bin Laden's compound after the raid. But Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said it had received no US request while other officials said no decision had been taken. “It's too early to even think about it,” said a senior government official, adding that Pakistani investigators had yet to finish their own questioning. Pakistan says the wives, one from Yemen and two from Saudi Arabia, and their children, will be repatriated. Pakistan was making contacts with their countries but they had yet to say they would take them, the Pakistani official said. Pakistan said Bin Laden's death was an important step in the fight against militancy but it was angered that it was not informed about it and that US forces violated its sovereignty when they swooped in on helicopters from Afghanistan. The government is under pressure to explain how the Al-Qaeda leader was found in the garrison town, a short distance from the main military academy. “We're in high-level consultations with Pakistani officials” about Bin Laden's wives and all other issues related to the raid, a senior US administration official said. “We are committed to maintaining our cooperative relationship.” Nevertheless, Bin Laden's discovery has deepened suspicion that Pakistan's pervasive Inter-Services Intelligence spy agency may have had ties with the Al-Qaeda leader, or that some of its agents did. US legislators have been asking tough questions, with some calling for a cut in billions of dollars of US aid to the nuclear-armed Muslim country. But the United States has stopped short of accusing Pakistan of providing shelter to Bin Laden. “We believe it is very important to maintain a cooperative relationship with Pakistan, precisely because it's in our national security interests to do so,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said.
