The Pakistan prime minister has denied allegations of complicity or incompetence in the Osama bin Laden case.

Yousuf Raza Gilani, speaking in the nation's parliament, said he believed his country had been unfairly targeted for criticism by the US.

He said neither the Pakistani state nor its various institutions, including its intelligence agency, had been "in cahoots" with al-Qaeda.

Gilani said Pakistan had given the US CIA leads that ultimately led to the US raid on the bin Laden compound in Abbottabad.

He blamed "all intelligence agencies of the world" for failing to track bin Laden and said he would not allow the US or any other detractors to project their own shortcomings in order to stigmatise Pakistan.

He termed allegations of complicity or incompetence on the part of Pakistan as "absurd".

Meanwhile, the White House has said it wants a full investigation by Pakistan into a possible supposed support network that may have allowed Osama bin Laden to live in Pakistan.

On the remarks made in the Pakistan parliament by Yousuf Raza Gilani, White House spokesman Jay Carney said while the United States understood Pakistan's concerns, it would make no apology for the operation that killed bin Laden.

Carney said: "We obviously take the statements and concerns of the Pakistani government seriously. But we also do not apologize for the action that we took, that this president took."

When asked whether the United states had concerns about Pakistan's ability to protect its nuclear arsenal, given its inability to detect the presence of Osama bin Laden, he said there had been no link made between nuclear security and bin Laden's presence in Pakistan.