Laden not in Pakistan: Gilani - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Pakistan Prime Yousuf Raza Gilani has rejected US President Barack Obama's claims regarding the presence of Al-Qaeda leadership in the country, saying there is no 'credible' information' about Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden's whereabouts. Responding to a question during a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown here, Gilani said Islamabad is pledged to take action against the extremist groups, but for doing so, it must have substantial actionable information. "I don't think that he is in Pakistan. If anyone has any credible intelligence, it must be shared with Pakistan. We will do everything on actionable intelligence information," The News quoted Gilani, as saying. Gilani also rejected the notion that Pakistan was not doing enough in the war against terror. "I do not agree with this information. Pakistan Army had launched an operation against militants and terrorists and is flushing out Uzbeks, Chechens, Arabs and the Taliban," he said in response to a query. Describing the war on terror as Pakistan's own fight, Gilani said Islamabad was forced to resort to military means against the insurgents after all reconciliatory efforts failed to resolve the issue. "We have tried dialogue, development and deterrence and exhausted all options. It is our resolve to fight them. We don't differentiate between Pakistan Taleban or Afghan Taleban or al-Qaeda. They all have no religion and no boundaries; they are the same to us," he said. Gilani also rebuked media reports that two-thirds of terrorist attacks against Britain originated from Pakistan. Earlier, in an interview to a private television channel, Gilani asserted that Pakistan was fighting the war on terror in its own interest, and that the Pakistani troops were contracted soldiers. "We are not contracted troops for others to assess our performance," Gilani said.