Kayani holds conference of commanders

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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, May 5 (UPI) -- Pakistani Army Chief Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani summoned a meeting of his top commanders for a review following the death of Osama bin Laden.

Kayani and his Corps Commanders planned to discuss the consequences arising from the killing of the al-Qaida leader by U.S. forces Monday during a raid on his compound in Abbottabad, northeast of the Pakistani capital, China's official Xinhua news agency reported, quoting a Pakistani Urdu language newspaper.

The report said the conference likely would result in some important decisions and the army may issue a statement, its first since bin Laden's death.

Kayani had been scheduled to visit Brussels but that has been put off, the report said.

Separately, Xinhua quoting analysts, said the bin Laden incident has caused a serious rift between the two countries as the Pakistani foreign ministry has said the U.S. raid came "without prior information or authorization from the government of Pakistan."

Pakistani analyst Hasan Raza was quoted as telling Geo television bin Laden's presence in Pakistan had further widened the trust gap between the two allies and some U.S. lawmakers even want to suspend aid to Pakistan.

Retired Lt. Gen. Hamid Gul, Pakistan's former intelligence chief, was quoted as telling a local TV channel: "The operation to kill bin Laden was not something new. It is quite unfortunate that we have permitted the United States to establish its bases and freely operate its forces in Pakistan."

Other analysts said Pakistan and the United States had never been trusted allies and the latest incident further confirmed it, Xinhua reported.