ISLAMABAD, Aug 13: An interior ministry spokesman has denied the statement attributed to Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat regarding Osama Bin Laden, appeared in a section of the press on Friday.

The following is the text of a press release issued by the ministry: "A spokesman to Minister for Interior and Narcotics Control Faisal Saleh Hayat while referring to a news item released by AFP quoting a Dubai-based Arabic television network has said that the reference regarding Osama bin Laden is absolutely baseless.

"He clarified that the news report has no relevance to the actual contents of the interview given by the interior minister and was totally out of context." -APP