Pakistani Prez: Bin Laden Isn't Here

If Osama bin Laden is alive it is "almost impossible" for him to be in Pakistan, President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said Monday.

"I can't say for sure whether he is dead or alive," Musharraf told a news conference in Islamabad. "One thing I am certain about is that he can't be in Pakistan."

Musharraf, speaking after a meeting with Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, said that if bin Laden was alive he would be traveling with a large group of supporters for security, and that such a group would be easy to spot.

For "a large body of people, it is not possible to have sanctuary in Pakistan," Musharraf said. "He cannot be hiding in one small corner of Pakistan ... remaining there without being found is almost impossible."

The statement came two days after authorities intensified hunts for suspected Muslim extremists in hideouts from hectic downtowns to craggy mountainsides, using wanted posters, reward offers and growing military force.

In the largest deployment against al Qaeda since the Pakistani government pledged support last year for the U.S.-led war on terror, more than 3,000 Pakistani soldiers searched mountainsides, houses and vehicles near the Afghan border Saturday.

The troops, backed by helicopters and U.S. intelligence, have arrested at least 20 men since Wednesday, when fighters believed to be from al Qaeda clashed with Pakistani troops, killing 10 troops.

In Karachi police released photos of 11 militants suspected in recent deadly bombings and the kidnap-slaying of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, and offered rewards totaling $320,000 for help in their capture.

It was the first time authorities had named suspects in the June 14 blast outside the U.S. consulate in Karachi that killed 12 Pakistanis, and in the May 8 car bombing outside the Karachi Sheraton Hotel that killed 11 French engineers and three other people, including the bomber.

Provincial police chief Kamal Shah said most of the men listed are members of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a Muslim extremist group banned last year.

The list named Asif Ramzi, a top Lashkar-e-Jhangvi leader, as wanted in the Pearl case and in other killings. A $48,000 reward was posted.

News reports quoted Pakistani Interior Minister Moinuddin Haider as saying the U.S. government would give his army five modern helicopters and three surveillance airplanes in coming days to help monitor the volatile border region.

U.S. officials estimate that up to 1,000 al Qaeda fighters still operate in small groups on both sides of the rugged border.

A Pakistani intelligence agent, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the al Qaeda suspects arrested in the past four days included Chechens, Sudanese, Nigerians and Afghans.