LONDON, Nov 20: Pakistani troops missed capturing Osama bin Laden by just 30 minutes, a British newspaper, The News of the World, reported on Sunday.

According to the newspaper, the Pakistani embassy in London confirmed the information and quoted it as saying, “We think we missed him (bin Laden) by 30 minutes. It was the closest we have been since 2001.”

When contacted, Director General ISPR, Maj Gen Shaukat Sultan told Dawn by phone from Islamabad, “It was not this year but last year.”

In reply to a question if President Musharraf had told an American journalist details of the operation, Maj Gen Sultan said, “the president has not talked to any US journalist recently. However, he did give an interview some time ago and told the journalist about the operation which took place last year.”

Details of the operation were revealed to American TV interviewer Daphne Barak by President Pervez Mushrraf earlier this year, the newspaper said.

The newspaper said Osama evaded capture by Pakistani troops by just 30 minutes as they zeroed in on him in a remote village close to the Afghan border sometime earlier in the spring.

“Data from a mobile phone used by one of bin Laden’s closest aides helped the Pakistani troops to pinpoint his hideout but by the time the troops could mount a raid, Bin Laden had slipped away,” said the newspaper.

“It was in the spring. We acted on intelligence reports and were close. Such fleeting opportunities come and either you succeed in a moment or you fail and miss the opportunity for a long time,” it quoted President Musharraf as saying in Islamabad.