September 4, 2003	Thursday	Rajab 6, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, Sept 3: Interior Minister Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat on Wednesday denied the presence of Osama bin Laden in the country.

Talking to reporters at the inauguration ceremony of Soan Bridge, he said nobody knew the whereabouts of Osama but it was confirmed that he was not in Pakistan.

Mr Hayat said many of Osama’s close aides had been arrested and added that with the help of the lead provided by them to international agencies the terrorist network had been destroyed.

“Nobody can say anything with any degree of certainty about the whereabouts of Osama and other leaders of Al Qaeda. Those who say that he is in Pakistan, should come out with solid evidence so that we can take action.”

He said the fight against terrorism was not a matter of one month or a year and was thus likely to continue for years. “The government is determined to counter terrorism at all levels and there will be no let-up in the anti-terror campaign,” he added.

The minister said the government was striving hard to protect the life and property of people and termed the recent killings in Karachi an outcome of old enmity.

“We have investigated the cases and found that two activists of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement were shot dead due to old rivalry,” he elaborated.

He was of the view that a de-weaponization campaign could not ensure security to people and added that such a campaign was meaningless if it was not backed by political will.

“Until and unless all essential ingredients are in place, such exercises will remain futile. We have to provide security cover to society and maintain law and order so that society itself gave up settling scores through the use of arms,” he argued.

Mr Hayat said devolution of power in Islamabad would take place through local government elections when such polls would be held in all cantonments.

He ruled out the possibility of PPP-Patriots’ merger with the PPP-Sherpao and PPP-Shaheed Bhutto groups, but said members of these groups were cooperating with each other.

Referring to the LFO controversy, he said the ARD and MMA could not launch any campaign against the government and added that they would fail to bring people out to the streets.

The government, he said, believed in democracy and had not indulged in political victimization. “Though we have solid evidence of corruption and malpractice against various opposition leaders, we will not do anything to hurt them politically,” he added.