PESHAWAR, Nov 11: A former Afghan commander claimed on Monday that Osama bin Laden was alive and hiding in Afghanistan.

“Bin Laden is alive,” Haji Zaman told a news conference.

“The current corps commander of Nangarhar province knows his whereabouts,” he said, in reference to his long-time rival Hazrat Ali.

Zaman served as corps commander during last December’s US-led military operation in the eastern Tora Bora mountains aimed at capturing Osama. He claimed that Ali, who was police chief of Nangarhar during the Tora Bora campaign, helped Osama escape from Tora Bora. Ali’s associate, commander Ilyas Khan provided safe passage to Osama, he added.

He believed Osama bin Laden was hiding somewhere in the mountainous terrain of Afghanistan’s southeast.

“Hazrat Ali can tell exactly where Osama has gone,” Zaman said, offering no proof of his claim. Ali and Zaman have long harboured rivalry, and Ali levelled the same accusation at Zaman earlier this year. Independent confirmation of Haji Zaman’s claim was impossible.

Zaman has been living in Peshawar since he was expelled from Nangarhar by late former governor Haji Abdul Qadir, who was assassinated in Kabul in July.—AFP