Kabul/Islamabad, May 23: The Taliban today said that its supreme leader Mullah Muhammad Omar is alive and "living in a safe place," in Afghanistan dismissing reports that he was killed in Pakistan 2-days ago.
 Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman dismissed as "totally" false the report that one-eyed Omar was shot dead as he was being moved from Quetta to North Waziristan by former ISI chief General Hamid Gul.
 "We totally deny such reports that get published by our enemies and then other media publish the same baseless reports," Mujahid, was quoted as saying by New York Times.
 Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik also said that "the rumors (of Omar's killing) in the morning were false."
 Former ISI chief Gul also vehemently denied that he was with Omar. Laughing at the reports and calling them completely baseless, he remarked "Was I killed too?" and "Am I speaking to you from heaven?"
 General Gul said he was in Rawalpindi two days ago, though it was not clear whether the Afghan security directorate believed he was physically with Omar or was orchestrating the move from elsewhere.
 The reports about Omar's killing in Pakistan came weeks after his close associate and al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden died in a US special operation in Abbottabad near Islamabad.
 Commenting on Omar's reported killing, Interior Minister Malik, said, "No NATO action has taken place here and we have not received any information on him, even Taliban has refused to this claim and Afghanistan intelligence has said the same. The rumors in the morning were false."
 Earlier, Afghan channel TOLO news reported quoting a source in the Afghan National Directorate of Security that Omar was killed in Pakistan.

Lastupdate on : Mon, 23 May 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 23 May 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 24 May 2011 00:00:00 IST