Senior officials in the administration of US President George W. Bush have questioned US ambassador to the United Nations Zalmay Khalilzad over "unauthorized" ties to Pakistan`s Asif Ali Zardari, the New York Times reported Tuesday.

US officials, who have insisted on their neutrality in the Pakistan political process, are puzzled and angry over Khalilzad`s frequent contact with Zardari, the widower of Benzir Bhutto and a presidential contender, the report said.

Khalilzad had spoken with Zardari by phone "several times a week for the past month until he was confronted about the unauthorized contacts," The Times quoted a senior US official as saying.

According to the text of an email obtained by the newspaper, assistant secretary of state Richard Boucher asked Khalilzad about the nature of his contacts after learning that Khalilzad sought to provide Zardari with "advice and help."

"Can I ask what sort of `advice and help` you are providing?" the email said. "What sort of channel is this? Government, private, personal?"

Khalilzad, who was a close ally of Bhutto`s before she was slain last year, cancelled a meeting with Zardari planned for next Tuesday while he vacations in Dubai, after Boucher learned of his plans, the report said.

"Ambassador Khalilzad had planned to meet socially with Zardari during his personal vacation," US mission to the United Nations spokesman Richard Grenell said in a statement.

"But because Zardari is now a presidential candidate, Ambassador Khalilzad postponed the meeting, after consulting with senior State Department officials and Zardari himself."

Officials speaking on condition of anonymity told the paper that the behavior by Afghan-born Khalilzad "raised hackles because of speculation he might seek to succeed Hamid Karzai as president of Afghanistan."

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