Bin Laden not in Pakistan, officials say

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, July 31 (UPI) -- The Pakistani government has no concrete evidence to suggest al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden is in the country, officials say.

Outgoing British High Commissioner to Pakistan Robert Brinkley told reporters recently that bin Laden, his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri and Taliban leader Mullah Omar were hiding out in the volatile tribal regions of Pakistan along the Afghan border.

His comments echo the widely held belief that the top leadership of al-Qaida fled strongholds in Afghanistan to take refuge in the volatile border regions of Pakistan.

Qamar Zaman Kaira, the Pakistani information minister, discounted the claims, saying the British claims on bin Laden lacked concrete evidence, The Economic Times of India reports.

"Those making claims of his presence in the country should provide actionable proof of it," he said. "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."

He went on to say that Pakistan has suffered greatly from the threats posed by al-Qaida and Taliban in the region, saying Islamabad has shouldered its fair share of the counter-terrorism burden.

"We do not want our efforts to be undermined by hypothetical assumptions," he added.