PRESIDENT George W Bush said today he knew of no US threat to bomb Pakistan following the September 11 attacks.
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said this week a US official warned his country in 2001 that America would bomb Pakistan "back to the Stone Age" if it did not co-operate with the campaign against the Taliban in Afghanistan.
"The first I've heard of this is when I read it in the newspaper today," Mr Bush said as he stood next to Mr Musharraf at a news conference. "I guess I was taken aback by the harshness of the words."
Mr Musharraf sidestepped the issue, saying he could not comment because of a book deal.
The Pakistani leader had told the CBS program 60 Minutes that the threat came from then-deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage, but Mr Armitage has since denied making such a warning. |