Pakistan says will not share US helicopter wreckage with China

Hussain Haqqani says China has not shown any interest in looking at chopper wreckage.

WASHINGTON:

Pakistan said Wednesday it would not share the wreckage of a US helicopter used in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden with China, after speculation that the aircraft contained secret technology.

"Pakistan is not going to share any technology, and I don't think our friends in China have shown any interest in doing so," Pakistan's ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani told CNN.

Updated from print edition (below)

China wants a peek at abandoned chopper

Pakistani officials on Tuesday said they are interested in studying the remains of the US’ secret stealth-modified helicopter abandoned during the Navy SEAL raid of Osama bin Laden’s compound, and suggested the Chinese are as well, ABC News reported.

The US has asked Pakistan for the helicopter wreckage back, but one Pakistani official told ABC News the Chinese were also “very interested” in seeing the remains. Another official said, “We might let them [the Chinese] take a look.” A US official said he did not know if the Pakistanis had offered a peek to the Chinese, but said he would be “shocked” if the Chinese had not already been given access.

The chopper, which aviation experts believe to be a highly classified modified version of a Blackhawk helicopter, clipped a wall during the operation. The US Navy SEALs attempted to destroy the chopper but a significant portion of the tail section survived the explosion. In the days after the raid, the tail section and other pieces of debris - including a mysterious cloth-like covering were photographed being hauled away from the crash site.

Aviation experts said the unusual configuration of the rear rotor, the curious hub-cap like housing around it and the general shape of the chopper are all clues the helicopter was highly modified.

US officials have not disclosed any details on the helicopter, but President Obama said it was a “$60 million helicopter,” in a report by The Washington Post. The price tag on normal Blackhawks varies depending on the type, but none cost more than $20 million according to the Department of Defense.

Meanwhile the CIA has informed two US Senate committees that their members can view post-mortem photos of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden if they wish.

Also on Tuesday, British newspaper The Telegraph reported that Hamza bin Laden, the youngest son of Osama bin Laden, may have escaped capture during the raid. Security officials believe a member of the Bin Laden household has disappeared, further deepening the confusion about who was killed. Investigators have said that one of Bin Laden’s widows has admitted a family member has not been seen since the raid. The White House initially claimed that Hamza had been killed. (With additional input from Reuters)

Published in The Express Tribune, May 12^th, 2011.