'US has not contacted FO for access to Bin Laden's wives'

Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir on Tuesday said the American government has not formally contacted the Foreign Office for gaining access to Osama bin Laden's wives, who are in custody in Pakistan.

Rejecting American media reports, Salman Bashir said if the US wants access to the wives of Bin Laden it should lodge a request through a proper channel.

When asked to comment on the fate of President Obama's upcoming visit to Pakistan, Salman Bashir said that no date has been finalised so far.

The foreign secretary made it clear that Pakistan is fighting the war on terror for its own national interests.

US expects to interview Bin Laden wives 'soon'

The United States expects that Pakistan will allow it to question the women apprehended at Osama bin Laden's compound "soon," a US official told AFP late Monday.

"The United States expects to be granted access soon," the official said, without providing more details. The White House has called on Islamabad to help counter growing mistrust by granting US investigators access to three of bin Laden's widows who are in Pakistani custody and could have vital information on al Qaeda.

Tensions have run high between the two anti-terror allies in the wake of the US commando raid that killed bin Laden, the world's most wanted man, in his compound near the Pakistani capital.