June 25, 2002	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 13, 1423

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ISLAMABAD, June 24: Top US military commander General Tommy Franks held talks with President Pervez Musharraf here on Monday as a senior defence official insisted there was no “actionable” evidence Osama bin Laden was in the country.

A government official told newsmen Gen Franks had a “detailed” meeting with President Musharraf and the two then had lunch together. The US general later flew to Kabul.

Military spokesman Major-General Rashid Qureshi denied Gen Franks’ visit was aimed at boosting the hunt for the world’s most wanted man after the head of the US Senate intelligence committee claimed he was at large in Pakistan’s wild western tribal belt.

He said the matter was not raised during the general’s talks with senior defence officials.

“Tommy Franks was here this morning and he said no such thing,” Gen Qureshi said.

“That means they have no such information otherwise they would have shared it with us.”

Gen Franks arrived late on Sunday as Senator Bob Graham said Osama was “probably” in Pakistan.

“Our best intelligence estimate continues to be that he is alive and probably some place in those tribal areas on the western side of Pakistan,” Graham told Fox television. Gen Qureshi told newsmen: “Frankly it doesn’t seem to be hard intelligence which is actionable.”

He speculated that Osama, suspected mastermind of the Sept 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington and leader of the Al Qaeda extremist network, may be in Afghanistan.

“They have been unable to find him in Afghanistan — is that the reason for this conclusion? But that would mean he could be anywhere, he could be in any country,” said Gen Qureshi.

“We feel he’s perhaps still hiding out in Afghanistan.”

Gen Qureshi said he had heard nothing about a proposal from Afghan President Hamid Karzai to set up a three-way US, Afghan and Pakistani operation to hunt down Osama and Taliban leader Mulla Omar. “The coalition forces are already operating in this fight against international terrorism and Al Qaeda,” he said.

“From what I understand the coalition forces operating in Afghanistan are operating with the Afghan forces which have good intelligence links.”

Gen Qureshi said there is “intimate” and daily coordination between the US and Pakistan in the hunt for Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters.

Karzai’s call for Pakistan to join forces with the United States and Afghanistan to smoke out Osama was a clear indication that the Afghan leader also thinks the alleged terror mastermind could be in Pakistan.—AFP