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Islamabad: Pakistan on Saturday rejected a US official's assertion that Al Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Omar are operating from Pakistani territory.
A senior US administration official told reporters in Washington that Bin Laden, his deputy Ayman Al Zawahiri and others were operating out of the country's Federally Administered Tribal Areas bordering Afghanistan.
Mullah Omar and other Taliban leaders were directing insurgency operations in Afghanistan from the city of Quetta, said the US official who declined to be identified.
Pakistan has consistently denied the militant leaders were on its territory since they disappeared when US-led troops overthrew the Taliban in Afghanistan for refusing to hand over Bin Laden after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
Bin Laden and Omar are believed to have fled from Afghanistan at that time.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Sadiq said if a US official had information on the whereabouts of the wanted militants he should tell Pakistan.
"If there is any actionable intelligence it should be shared with the government of Pakistan so that they can be neutralised," Sadiq said. "You don't talk to the media if you have information like this."
He said the US official's assertion was not correct.
"If he was right, he would claim the bounty money, not speak to the media," he said, referring to US reward money for information leading to the arrest of the militants.
Pakistan did not know where the militant leaders were, Sadiq said. "If we knew, we would take action."
Pakistan supported the Taliban in Afghanistan before the September 11 attacks but President Pervez Musharraf threw his support behind the US-led campaign against terrorism after the attacks on US cities.
Frustration
But with the Taliban gaining strength in Afghanistan despite the efforts of US and Nato troops, frustration has been growing in the United States with what critics see as Pakistan's less than whole-hearted efforts to tackle the militants on the border.
The US official said despite the presence of Al Qaida leaders in Pakistan, the US administration still saw Musharraf as a worthy ally.
"There are multiple sources of pressure and instability on Musharraf and the sense here has been what he really needs is a dependable partner to see him through this period and that's been sort of the strategic logic of supporting Musharraf," the US official said.
Threat: Extremism 'is growing'
The top US military commander said yesterday the threat of extremism was growing in Pakistan and that the country's leadership was keenly aware of the challenge facing the nation.
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made the comment to reporters after meetings with Pakistan's senior leadership including President Pervez Musharraf and the army's chief, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.
Mullen said much of the discussion centred on the situation along the country's lawless northwestern border with Afghanistan, where Pakistani forces have been battling Taliban and Al Qaida fighters.
"Certainly the threat is going up," Mullen said. "We're both concerned about that. Certainly in my meetings today, all the leadership expressed concern about being able to eliminate that threat over time." US officials have complained privately that the Pakistani leadership had underestimated the threat posed by extremists, who, at least in the past, have had close ties with Pakistani intelligence officials.
Mullen's remarks came on the same day a suicide bomb attack killed at least 18 people and wounded more than 25 others at an election rally in a northwestern town, according to officials. No one immediately claimed responsibility. Extremists operate in the area.
- AP
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