Pakistani president: Bin Laden 'may be dead'

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said his intelligence agencies believe Osama bin Laden may be dead, but he added there is no proof. Other Pakistani officials and a US counterterrorism official said they thought the al-Qaida chief is alive. US officials said Monday that bin Laden is most likely hiding in the mountains along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, in particular the lawless tribal regions. "We continue to believe that bin Laden is alive," said the US official, who declined to be named because he was not authorized to discuss the matter on the record. In an interview Monday with international media outlets, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said American officials had told him they do not know where bin Laden is. "They are much more informed," Zardari said. "They've been actually after him for a longer time. They've got more equipment. They've got more intelligence. ... so they tell us they have no trace at the moment."