LONDON, Jan 29: Pakistani government has been accused of ‘prevarication’ in a report carried by the Sunday Telegraph, which according to the paper’s sources, cost America the chance to kill Osama bin Laden in an air strike near the Afghan border about two years ago.

The report, quoting an unnamed Western diplomat, said a CIA lead that the Al-Qaeda leader was hiding in Balochistan was squandered because the Pakistani government delayed giving permission for the attack on its soil.

It said by the time US officials got the go-ahead, bin Laden had left the suspected hideout in Zhob in Balochistan.

“For unknown reasons, Pakistani officials delayed in giving permission ... which ultimately gave these militants time to move to an unknown location,” the paper quoted the diplomat as saying about the Zhob attack.

The newspaper said the diplomats account was backed by sources within Pakistani intelligence. It said the CIA picked up electronic traffic suggesting that bin Laden and his bodyguards had sought temporary shelter in Zhob and described the place dominated by Pathan and Baloch tribesmen who were “sympathetic to Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.”

The report said the US had decided to launch a strike by laser guided missiles from the Predator drone, fearing that a commando raid would cause massive casualties to both sides, with no guarantee of success.

“While Pakistan’s President, Pervez Musharraf, has vowed to eliminate terrorists operating within his country, elements within Pakistan’s ISI intelligence service may have sought to protect bin Laden,” it said while attempting to find a reasoning for the delay.

The newspaper said the diplomat cited the near miss as the reason why America chose not to consult Islamabad before the US missile strike in Bajaur.