DAVOS: Pakistan did not know about the presence of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in the northwestern garrison town of Abbottabad, former US ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter said.

Osama, the founder of the militant group, was killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on May 2, 2011 by US Navy SEALs of the Special Warfare Development Group.

The 'get-Osama' operation created deep mistrust between the US and Pakistan, Munter told a private news channel in Pakistan.

“Those who claim that Pakistan knew about the whereabouts of bin Laden are wrong,” said Munter at a dinner reception for former army chief General (retired) Raheel Sharif, in Davos.

He admitted the killing of the Al-Qaeda leader inside Pakistan further deepened mistrust between the two countries. “Terrible mistakes were made due to deep mistrust.”

But over the past three years, he explained, relations between the US and Pakistan had significantly improved. In order to build trust, both sides had to demonstrate patience, he remarked.