ISLAMABAD, July 5 (Xinhuanet) -- Pakistani Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Sherpao said Tuesday that there is no evidence of the presence of al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in Pakistan and that he could be hiding in southeastern Afghanistan.

    "It is my assessment that the writ of the government is not so strong in the southern and eastern provinces of Afghanistan. Those are Taliban-dominated areas and there could be a possibility of his presence," Sherpao told reporters in Islamabad.

    Sherpao said in an interview with the Associated Press of Pakistan on Monday that bin Laden's close aide Ayamn al-Zawahri and Taliban's chief Mullah Mohammed Omar may also be in southeastern Afghanistan.

    "The possibility of Mullah Omar, Osama bin Laden and his close aide Ayman al-Zawahri hiding in that area cannot be ruled out," the minister was quoted as saying.

    He said Tuesday that there is no evidence to prove that Osama is in Pakistan. "We don't have any evidence that Osama is in Pakistan," the minister said.

    Answering a question about increase in Taliban attacks in Afghanistan, Sherpao said Taliban steps up attacks as winter recedes. Reports coming from Afghanistan show that Taliban has organized themselves, Sherpao noted.

    When asked to comment on Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah's earlier statement that suspects are still crossing into Afghanistan from Pakistan, Sherpao said that Islamabad does not want any tension and complication in ties with the neighboring country.

    "Peace in Afghanistan is essential for peace in Pakistan. If there is peace in Pakistan it will benefit Afghanistan," he said.

    Sherpao added that Pakistan has deployed 75,000 troops along the Pak-Afghan borders to check any illegal cross-border movement. "We do not want our soil used for terrorist activities," Sherpao said. Enditem