WASHINGTON, Feb 13: President Gen Pervez Musharraf said on Wednesday he was “reasonably sure” kidnapped US reporter Daniel Pearl was alive and held out hope he would be quickly released.

“I am reasonably sure he is alive,” Musharraf told reporters after an Oval Office meeting with US President George W. Bush, who asked Islamabad to make Pearl’s case a top priority.

“We are as close as possible to getting him released,” Musharraf added, citing “the combined efforts of all the intelligence agencies in Pakistan” involved in the investigation. Hopes were high that Pearl’s release would coincide with Musharraf’s meeting with Bush.

At a joint press conference with President Musharraf, Bush praised Islamabad’s efforts to find the missing reporter.