Pakistani officials Wednesday denied an Iran Radio report that Osama bin Laden had been captured in Pakistan. The Iranian report on the state radio’s external service, monitored by the BBC in London, quoted the deputy leader of the Islamic Awami Tahrik party in Pakistan, Murtaza Poya, as saying bin Laden had been arrested and officials would not announce his capture until a war with Iraq started. “It is not correct,” Interior Ministry Secretary Iftikar Ahmed told AP. “This is just not true,” said Brig. Javed Iqbal Cheema, Pakistan’s intelligence coordinator in the war on terror. Pakistan Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed also denied the report and also told a news conference earlier: “Osama is not in Pakistan; we have no information about Osama bin Laden and if someone has this information he should tell us.” In Washington, CIA spokesman Bill Harlow said, “We are unaware of bin Laden being captured by anyone at this time.” Meanwhile, an intelligence source told AP that al-Qaida’s third most powerful man, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed — suspected mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks — was questioned at a “safe house” belonging to the Pakistani spy agency. They said his head was covered in a black hood and he spoke in English and Arabic. American interrogators were present, but Mohammed did not see them. Full Story
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