Pakistan has said that Osama bin Laden is likely to be in Afghanistan, rejecting a reported claim by Kabul's foreign minister that the Al-Qaeda chief is hiding in Pakistani territory.(AFP/File)
Posted on 05/16/2006 11:46:44 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Authorities on Tuesday dismissed speculation that Osama bin Laden might be hiding in Pakistan's mountainous north — a region more known for its spectacular scenery than Islamic militancy.
A recent visit to the resort town of Chitral by at least one American prompted allegations from a local lawmaker from a hard-line Islamic party that the FBI or CIA had set up an office there to hunt for the al-Qaida chief.
"These sort of stories keep appearing," Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao told a news conference in the capital, Islamabad. He denied American agents were based in Chitral. "We have no knowledge about the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden."
Chitral is located about 155 miles northwest of Islamabad, near the border with northeastern Afghanistan and is often visited by trekkers and mountaineers exploring the spectacular peaks of the Hindu Kush.
It lies north of volatile Pakistani tribal regions where pro-Taliban and al-Qaida militants are active and where bin Laden has long been thought to be hiding.
The police chief in Chitral, Fazal Elahi, said it would be impossible for an outsider like bin Laden to hide in the town. He said that some Americans had stayed in Chitral recently and police had provided them security. He declined to give further details about the visitors, but said he was not aware that they were agents.
To protest the alleged presence of U.S. agents, Abdul Akbar Chitrali, a lawmaker for a hard-line Islamic coalition, led a street rally on Friday, said Shahid Shamsi, a spokesman for the opposition Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal or United Action Forum coalition.
The New York Times quoted Chitrali as saying that four Americans, whom he claimed were either from the CIA or FBI, had set up an office following a "fabricated" report that some Arabs had come down from mountains to visit the town's bazaar.
The Times quoted the local deputy police superintendent, Fazal Elahi, as saying police had posted two guards outside the hotel room of a recent American visitor from the U.S. Consulate in the northwestern city of Peshawar who told police he was visiting to prepare a vacation house for himself in the town.
Officials at the U.S. Embassy did not return calls seeking comment Tuesday.
Pakistan is a U.S. ally in the war on terrorism, but any presence of American operatives on its soil is a sensitive one because of widespread opposition to that alliance, particularly among Islamic hard-liners.
Earlier this month, Henry Crumpton, the U.S. ambassador in charge of counterterrorism, called parts of Pakistan's border region a "safe haven" for militants and said bin Laden was more likely to be hiding there than in Afghanistan.
On Monday, Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said bin Laden was more likely to be in Afghanistan.
Pakistan has said that Osama bin Laden is likely to be in Afghanistan, rejecting a reported claim by Kabul's foreign minister that the Al-Qaeda chief is hiding in Pakistani territory.(AFP/File)
Ignore that 6ft 5 in...man over in the corner....:-)
I thought he got a job at Harvard.
Isn't it time for someone to post "He's dead, Jim" despite the liklihood that it's not true?
The Dentist is calling you ASA....:-)
Means he's probably there . . .
No really....knock me over with a feather...-)
You recall that little blurb in the Pakistani press from early May where they said the CIA was going into Chitral after a visit from U.S. officials. Then there was the IHT article posted earlier today which detailed even how some were moving into a building in the area.
Maybe this is all just another leak, but maybe it is purely intentional . . .
Get the game to move....a moving target is easier to spot.
No, he's not calling me. I've never posted a Doc McCoy comment or photo.
But here're the Elvis Bin Laden photos for your viewing pleasure.
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