Bin Laden gets a pass from Pakistan? or Not?

The reason, Mr. Bush, that one must not abandon diplomacy and other forms of soft power is to avoid humiliations like this:

Osama bin Laden, America's most wanted man, will not face capture in Pakistan if he agrees to lead a "peaceful life," Pakistani officials tell ABC News.

The surprising announcement comes as Pakistani army officials announced they were pulling their troops out of the North Waziristan region as part of a "peace deal" with the Taliban.

If he is in Pakistan, bin Laden "would not be taken into custody," Major General Shaukat Sultan Khan told ABC News in a telephone interview, "as long as one is being like a peaceful citizen."

(HT: Taylor Marsh) This is pretty hard to believe. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf must either not think much of the United States, or must be under so much political pressure that he allowed this insult to occur. I mean, this is just nuts. I wonder how the Bush administration will respond. As an American, I feel pretty insulted that Pakistan would take such a position. Have we really pissed them off that much?

OK, doing some Googling, we now have a denial from the same Major General Shaukat Sultan Khan:

Pakistan's top army spokesman on Wednesday vehemently denied a news report quoting him as saying Osama bin Laden would not be taken into custody if he agrees to live peacefully in the country.

"This is absolutely fabricated, absurd. I never said this," Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan told The Associated Press, referring to an ABC News report aired hours earlier.

Either the Major General is doing some serious back-pedaling, or some reporter at ABC needs to get fired. I imagine this is going to create quite a fracas.