‘Bin Laden is hiding in Pak, sheltered by Islamists’

The New York Times reported that Laden was in Pakistan as recently as last month. ‘‘There is now no doubt that he is alive and well,’’ a senior Pakistani official was quoted as saying. ‘‘We have documents that show he is alive and in this region.’’

He official said the information that Laden and Mohammed met in February came from documents, CD-ROMs, and a computer recovered from Mohammed.

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat, however, said if bin Laden and his right hand man Aiyman al-Zawahri are alive, they are not in Pakistan, according to Al-Jazeera.

The arrests of several high-ranking Al-Qaeda leaders recently in Pakistan has raised questions about relationship between Pakistan’s islamists and Laden’s Al Qaeda.

Saleh said Al Qaeda members captured by authorities were sheltered by members of Pakistan’s rulingIislamist coalition, Al-Jazeera quoted him as saying. ‘‘The individuals who have been arrested in raids in Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and the last incident in Rawalpindi have been active members of the Islamic grouping (Pakistan’s coalition government), and are the ones providing haven for those individuals,’’ Saleh said.

Reports quoting Pakistan’s intelligence agencies this week said Islamabad has stepped up surveillance of ‘‘active members’’ of the Jamaat Islami party.

Shaikh Mohammed, arrested by Pakistan’s intelligence agency last Saturday, is believed to be the operations chief behind the 9/11 terrorist strikes on the US.