Al Qaeda’s leaders are holed up in a secure hideout in Pakistan, from which they are revitalising their bruised but resilient network, US intelligence chief John Negroponte said. Negroponte told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence that Pakistan is the centre of a web of Al Qaeda connections that stretches across the globe into Europe. “Al Qaeda is cultivating stronger operational connections and relationships that radiate outward from their leaders’ secure hideout in Pakistan,” he said. “Pakistan is our partner in the terror war, but it is also a major source of extremism,” Negroponte said. “Eliminating the haven extremists have found in Pakistan’s tribal areas is not sufficient to end the Afghan insurgency, but is necessary.” Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry described Negroponte’s comments as “questionable criticism” and urged him to acknowledge Pakistan’s role in breaking Al Qaeda. Army spokesman Shaukat Sultan said the US had not given Pakistan any information about the presence of Al Qaeda leaders in the country. US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack acknowledged that Al Qeada leaders had “secure hideouts” in Pakistan. Emphasising that Washington did not doubt Pakistan’s partnership in the war on terror, McCormack indicated that Islamabad was reviewing the deal in the tribal area.