Osama, Omar hiding near Pak-Afghan border: Holbrooke

ISLAMABAD - Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and leader of the Taliban in Afghanistan Mullah Omar were hiding somewhere along the Pakistan-Afghan border, US special representative for the region Richard Holbrooke said Saturday.

Holbrooke, who is on a two-day visit to Pakistan, said this after meeting Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

He said that the US did not only increase aid to Pakistan’s military but also extended its support in other sectors as well, Dawn reported.

“People all over the world should be more aware of the sacrifices Pakistani people and the army have made in pushing back militants in Swat, South Waziristan and other northwestern regions,” Holbrooke told a joint news conference here.

“In July I’m expecting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to visit Islamabad for a second session of the strategic dialogue,” Qureshi said.