Washington ( CNN ) -- With U.S.-Pakistan relations in the deep freeze , former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and American officials called Thursday for a thaw . `` Blame games , rigidity , arrogance , insensitivity to each other 's national interests is certainly very counter-productive , '' Musharraf said in Washington . `` It definitely saddens me to see the deteriorating Pakistan-United States relations , '' he said in a speech at the Woodrow Wilson International Center . Twelve weeks have passed since American commandos killed Osama bin Laden inside Pakistan , an event that dramatically widened the rift between the two countries . Musharraf denied he knew during his time as president or later that bin Laden was hiding out in Pakistan . `` Whether one believes it or not , let me say with confidence , I did not know , '' he declared . He suggested that it was negligence and not complicity of the Pakistan government that allowed bin Laden to stay there undetected . `` If there was complicity this is very , very serious indeed , '' Musharraf said . `` I think the UN and the United States have all the right to be against Pakistan if it ultimately comes to believe that ... people were hiding him , people were complicit in it , '' Musharraf said . The former president and general , who has been living in London , pledged to return to Pakistan next March for a political comeback in 2013 , in what he called `` the mother of all elections . '' David Petraeus , making his way home from Afghanistan where he was commanding general and soon to start his new job as CIA director , reportedly told a Paris audience yesterday he also is worried about relations with Pakistan . He just completed a visit there and said the relationship is at a difficult stage but the U.S. must continue efforts to work with Pakistan , recognizing what it has done in the fight against terror . Meanwhile in Washington , top U.S. military leaders told senators of their concerns about Pakistan . The soldier poised to take over as chief of staff of the Army , Gen. Ray Odierno , said militants hiding out in Pakistan along the Afghanistan border are a major security challenge facing the United States . Adm. James Winnefeld , tapped as the next vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , said Pakistan must do more to crack down on insurgents like the Haqqani network . `` Pakistan is a very , very difficult partner and we all know that . We do n't always share the same world view or the same opinions or the same national interests , '' Winnefeld told the Senate Armed Services Committee . `` I think we need to continued pressure on Pakistan using all elements of pressure that we 're able to apply to what really should be a friend to get them to realize that the Haqqani network poses a threat to their own country and to take the steps that we 've asked them to take . '' Former congresswoman and Wilson Center director Jane Harmon said both the United States and Pakistan have made mistakes and miscalculations . `` Nothing is irreparable and this relationship has got to be fixed , '' Harmon said after Musharraf 's speech . `` I think some tough love is required , I think there needs to be a more honest and straight relationship , '' Harmon said . `` The Pakistanis have grievances , but we clearly have grievances too . ''
The former president of U.S. says he did not know Pervez Musharraf was hiding there . `` Let me say with confidence , I did not know , '' Pervez Musharraf tells a Musharraf group . U.S. and Pakistan officials separately call for a thaw in chilly U.S.-Pakistan relations .