ISLAMABAD, Sept 7: Pakistan on Tuesday dismissed a claim by a US counter-terrorism official that the United States and its allies were closing in on Osama bin Laden.

Pakistani media on Sunday quoted Cofer Black, US State Department coordinator for counter-terrorism, as saying that the United States and its allies have put the Al Qaeda leader on the defensive, increasing chances of his capture soon.

But Pakistani Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said Black's remarks were a "political statement". "We don't have any information about that," Mr Rashid told Reuters by telephone from Saudi Arabia where he is accompanying Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on an official visit.

Black's comments came just a few days after US President George W. Bush, who is standing for re-election in November, said that three-quarters of known Al Qaeda leaders have been captured or killed.

"If he (Osama) has a watch, he should be looking at it because the clock is ticking. He will be caught," Black told a private television. "Programmes are in place and what I tell people (is), I would be surprised but not necessarily shocked if we wake up tomorrow and he had been caught along with all his lieutenants."

Pakistan, has made a series of breakthroughs against Al Qaeda since July. More than 70 suspected militants, including senior Al Qaeda operatives, have been arrested, raising hopes that security forces are zeroing in on Osama or his deputy al-Zawahri.

Pakistani officials play down such hopes, saying the pair's whereabouts is still a mystery, although it is often said they are probably holed up in the mountainous region on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. -Reuters