Hilary Clinton chastised Pakistan yesterday for not making enough effort to seize senior al-Qaeda leaders who she said were hiding in the lawless tribal region bordering Afghanistan.

“I find it hard to believe that nobody in your government knows where they are and could not get them if they really wanted to,” the US Secretary of State told a group of Pakistani newspaper editors.

Her comments came as the Pakistani military said that Said Bahaji, a member of a Hamburg terrorist cell linked to the 9/11 attacks, could be involved with the militants fighting the Pakistani forces in South Waziristan.

US intelligence officials have repeatedly said they believe that Osama bin Laden and his associates were hiding near the border with Afghanistan but this was the first time a senior American official has accused Pakistan of not trying hard enough to apprehend them.

“May be that is the case, may be they are not getable. I don’t know,” Mrs Clinton said. “As far as we know they are in Pakistan.”

During a visit to the eastern city of Lahore, Mrs Clinton also warned that Pakistanis that they must get their act together to solve the challenges facing Islamabad.

Her outburst has been poorly received by many Pakistanis, who blame US policy for most of their country’s problems in dealing with rising terrorism.

A senior security official said: “Pakistan has done far more than any other country in combating al-Qaeda, capturing at least 700 of its activists.”

Mrs Clinton was on a three-day visit to Pakistan designed to shore up the US relationship with Pakistan and offer help in its military campaign against Taleban militants.

A major purpose of her visit was to heal the widening distrust between the two countries. Part of her efforts were directed at interacting with wider representatives of Pakistani society including the media, politicians and students.

But her charm offensive was derailed when she was confronted by sceptical Pakistanis questioning the US intention to build a long term relationship with the South Asian Muslim nation.

During a meeting at Lahore University one student asked: “What guarantee can the American give Pakistanis that you guys would not betray us like you did in the past?”

In another confrontation, a member of parliament from Pakistan’s tribal region known as FATA said US policy was the main cause of terrorism spilling over into Pakistani cities.

“You have to stop drone attacks and killing our people if you really want peace in the region,” she was told.

An editorial in The Dawn, Pakistan’s most prestigious English language newspaper, read: “Unfortunately, when it comes to strategic issues — the real meat of Pak-US relations — Mrs Clinton’s trip has come perhaps a few weeks too soon.”

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