Refuting claim by the Afghan defence minister that al Qaeda leaders were likely to be present in Pakistan, the Foreign Office on Saturday said no one knows about the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden or his deputy and they could be anywhere, including Afghanistan.
"They (al Qaeda leaders) could be anywhere in the world, including Afghanistan," Foreign Office Spokesman Jalil Abbas Jilani said, while commenting on the statement of Afghan Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak.
The spokesman said that what is more important is Pakistan making efforts in fighting terrorism. He said Pakistan, despite its limited resources, has made tremendous sacrifices in the war against terrorism and the same has been acknowledged by the entire international community, including the top leadership in Afghanistan.
Wardak in a statement on Saturday said al Qaeda Chief Osama bin Laden, his Deputy Ayman al-Zawahri and Taleban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar are more likely to be in Pakistan than Afghanistan.
On Friday, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said he had no idea where bin Laden was but he was not in Afghanistan. Defence minister Abdul Rahim Wardak told reporters he thought bin Laden, al-Zawahri and Omar were "continuously on the run".
"They do not stay in one place for a long time and there is more possibility that they are on the other side," he said in reference to Pakistan.
Wardak said militant attacks had risen more than expected after a winter lull and it appeared al Qaeda forces were regrouping and changing tactics to again focus on Afghanistan. He said Taleban and al Qaeda forces, as well as those of renegade former prime minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, had joined together to launch attacks.
"Al-Qaeda has regrouped," he said. "There is co-ordination. There are signs that confirm that," he said.
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