Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said he is "reasonably sure" that Osama bin Laden did not escape to Pakistan and that there is a "great possibility" that the Saudi dissident died during the bombing of Tora Bora. In an interview Saturday to the Chinese television, Musharraf declared al Qaeda leader "is not in Pakistan, of that we are reasonably sure," although he admitted he could not guarantee it 100 percent.
The Pakistani ruler stressed he ordered to strengthen security measures in the Afghan border in an attempt to detain Bin Laden in case he attempts to cross over. "Maybe he is dead because of the military operations and the bombardment of the caves," Musharraf added. "There is a great possibility that he died."
"If he enters the country, we will hand him over," the Pakistani leader commented
Comments of Osama bin Laden's Mother
Meanwhile, Osama bin Laden's mother was quoted in a British newspaper on Sunday as saying she believes a videotape of her son, which the United States argues proves he had prior knowledge of the September 11 attacks, was a false.
"I believe the evidence against him is not solid. I think the video they produced is doctored," Alia Ghanem was quoted as saying by the Mail on Sunday tabloid in an interview conducted by a Saudi journalist. "The voice is unclear and uneven. There are too many gaps and the statements are very unlike him," she cited.
The British newspaper wrote Ghanem was interviewed last week by Saudi journalist and bin Laden family friend Khalid Batarfi, the editor of Saudi newspaper Al Medina.
Ghanem said she was convinced her son was not responsible for the attacks but feared he would be killed before his name was cleared. "Osama is too good a Muslim and too good a person to say or do what the script of the video suggests he said and did," she said. "But I don't agree with everything he says and he knows that. I pray to Allah that he will live until the truth is revealed." (Albawaba.com)
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
