Islamabad, July 25: Describing Pakistan’s lawless tribal belt near Afghanistan as the “global headquarters” of al-Qaeda, top American military commander Mike Mullen has said the US believed that Osama bin Laden and his deputy Aiman al-Zawahiri are in this country.
 The presence of these terrorist leaders in the region is a reason why “a principal part of the overall Af-Pak strategy is focussed on elimination of safe havens” for them, Mullen told reporters here last night.
 His comments came days after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ruffled feathers in Islamabad by making a similar statement.
 During her recent visit here, Clinton had also said that bin Laden and other top al-Qaeda leaders are in Pakistan, an assertion dismissed by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi as “speculation”.
 Responding to questions, Mullen, who is on his 19th visit to Pakistan, said al-Qaeda leaders are hiding in a “very secure place” and it is difficult to trace them. He said Pakistan’s tribal belt is the “global headquarters” for the al-Qaeda network.
 Mullen praised Pakistan for moving against militants but said that there is still a need to take action against the Haqqani network of Taliban, which has been disturbing peace inside Afghanistan by its activities from Pakistan.
 He described the Haqqani group as “the most lethal network” faced by US-led forces in Afghanistan and said he had repeatedly urged Pakistan to tackle this threat. Pakistani forces are aware of the threat posed by the Haqqani group, he said.

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