No evidence on Taliban presence in Pakistan

Pakistan's military asks the US to provide solid information about the alleged presence of Taliban leadership in its southwestern province.

“After getting all kinds of intelligence reports on the subject we have informed the US that the Taliban and al-Qaeda leadership do not exist in Quetta [in Baluchistan province],” Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, a military spokesman told a local Pakistani private TV channel, a Press TV correspondent reported.

He said the US officials are making such claims just to cover their failures in Afghanistan.

The Pakistani army spokesman said that the possibility of Osama bin Laden's presence in Afghanistan is much bigger than that of Pakistan as the Allied forces have admitted that they have no control over about 70 percent of Afghanistan.

Abbas said that all entrances and exits to South Waziristan agency were closed one-and-half month ago in preparation of a military operation to be launched against the militants present in the tribal area.

The statement comes just hours after Pakistan's military chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani met with visiting Commander of International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and discussed with him military operations in South Waziristan.