Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden is alive and sheltering in lawless parts of Pakistan on the border with Afghanistan, US intelligence chief Mike McConnell said on Monday.

McConnell blamed President Pervez Musharraf’s government for allowing al-Qaeda to regroup via a peace pact last year with tribal leaders in the border areas. But Musharraf remains a key ally, he said.

The administration’s latest remarks, following the White House’s refusal to rule out military attacks on militants inside Pakistan, sparked a curt response from Islamabad.

“Our stance is that Osama bin Laden is not present in Pakistan,” Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao told AFP. “If anyone has the information he should give it to us, so that we can apprehend him.” Asked about bin Laden, the US director of national intelligence told NBC television: “My personal view is that he’s alive. I believe he is in the tribal region of Pakistan.” A new report by the US intelligence last week said that al-Qaeda had regrouped in its Pakistani “safe haven”.

50 Taliban killed
Meanwhile, the US-led coalition  “routed” Taliban fighters in a two-day battle in south Afghanistan, killing over 50 militants.

‘ATTACK ON SOIL UNACCEPTABLE’
Islamabad, PTI:  Amid US assertions that Osama bin Laden was hiding in its tribal areas, Pakistan on Monday said Washington’s threats of possible attacks against militant hideouts on its soil were “ill-conceived” and “dangerous”, which would “further complicate” their cooperation in the war on terror.

No military action from any other country would be allowed within Pakistan, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said. “Pakistan can handle its own requirements of troops. The sovereignty and security (of the country) is the responsibility of Pakistan,” Aziz said in a TV interview.