Pakistan on Saturday dismissed a senior US official's assertion that al Qaeda and Taliban leaders Osama bin Laden and Mullah Mohammad Omar were operating from its tribal areas. "The claim by an unnamed official is baseless," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Sadiq, who said Islamabad would take action if the US provided it with intelligence to support the statement.
The US official made the comment at a media briefing in Washington on Friday, as US Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen was in Pakistan for talks with top military officials believed to focus on counter-terrorism.
"There is no question that the iconic leaders of al Qaeda - (Ayman al-) Zawahiri, bin Laden... are in the tribal areas of Pakistan," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We believe that the Taliban's shura leaders led by Mullah Omar reside in Quetta," he said.