PESHAWAR, Oct 18: The NWFP chief minister has denied the presence of Osama bin Laden and other members of the Al Qaeda network in Pakistan and said that no body should claim their presence in the country without any concrete proof.

Talking to Dawn after the end of passing out ceremony of the 10th Basic Anti-Terrorist Course in Nowshera, the chief minister said that there were no terrorists on the soil of Pakistan and if any, they were able to overpower them without any foreign support.

On the recent statements of President Gen Pervez Musharraf admitting the presence of Osama in Pakistan, Mr Durrani said, “it is not true.” Without concrete evidence, nobody should utter such statements, he said.

And all those killed in the shootout with Pakistan army and arrested by the law enforcement authorities in South Waziristan tribal agency were the people living in the region since long, the chief minister claimed.

They came to the region during the Russian occupation of Afghanistan and later on become permanent residents of the area, he maintained.

Commenting on the much-talked about the ouster of his government, the chief minister said that there was no threat to the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal government in the province.

“I also heard that Aftab Sherpao is busy in wheeling dealing with some politicians, but still these are rumours and nothing is on the ground to prove his activities against the MMA government,” he said.

The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians and the Awami National Parties were also not favouring any action against the elected government in the province, Mr Durrani said.

“But, there are some elements who intentionally scotching rumours against the MMA government in NWFP for their vested interests,” he said.

Mr Durrani said that he wanted the supremacy of the Constitution. “The governor is head of the province and I hope he will have the same respect for it,” he added.

But, if the Constitution was violated, there would be a political mess in the province. “The alliance of religious parties is now a big political power and any action against the allaiance will be considered as fanning a trouble in NWFP,” he commented.

He said that the MMA government had given all constitutional rights to the opposition parties in the province. “In the history of Pakistan, no government has ever given away development funds to the opposition member,” he said.

“But it is only my government, which released the development funds first to them and then distributed among the members of the treasury benches,” he asserted.

On the Legal Framework Order, the chief minister said that the MMA had a genuine stance and it would not be changed at any cost even using pressurising tools by the Centre.

“I have a strong nerve and will not lose any battle on any grounds,” he said.