Islamabad: The Pakistan government on Thursday
said there is no evidence that Al Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden
is present in the country and any claims in this regard should
be backed up with "actionable proof".
Reacting to British High Commissioner Robert
Brinkley`s statement that bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and
Taliban chief Mullah Omar could be hiding in Pakistan`s tribal
belt, Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said "there is no
evidence that Osama bin Laden is present in Pakistan".
"Those making claims of his presence in the country
should provide actionable proof of it; and if our coalition
partners have any suggestions for improving our actions
against the terrorists they should convey it to us instead of
making assumptions," Kaira said in a statement.
Al Qaida and Taliban have threatened Pakistan,
attacked its security forces, killed civilians and targeted
the country`s leadership, he said. "We are therefore combating
terrorism in our own interest. We do not want our efforts to
be undermined by hypothetical assumptions," he added.
Pakistan`s losses in the war against terrorism were
more than the combined loss of Afghanistan and the
International Security Assistance Force and it had "a record
of doing more than any other single country" in the campaign,
he said.
The success of counter-terrorism endeavours depends on
effective cooperation and coordination "rather than going to
press and making hypothetical statements that would further
complicate our ongoing efforts to fight Al Qaida and other
terrorist elements", Kaira said.
Brinkley told reporters yesterday that bin Laden,
al-Zawahiri and Mullah Omar could be hiding in the tribal
areas located along the Afghan border. Media reports said
Brinkley had asked Pakistan to act against Al Qaida and help
the allied forces to nab bin Laden as soon as possible.
Bureau Report
