Musharraf pours scorn on U.S. bin Laden claims

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf dismissed as "speculation" claims by senior U.S. officials that they know where Osama bin Laden is hiding.

"Any talk about his whereabouts is mere speculation," Musharraf told the Emirati daily Al-Khaleej.

"Some are saying that bin Laden is in Pakistan, and what I want to tell them is: Please come and tell us where he is. Anyone can say that he (bin Laden) is anywhere, so why talk about his presence here (in Pakistan)?"

"Please come and show us where he is or tell us where he is. We will act on such information," he added.

U.S. and Afghan officials have previously claimed they think bin Laden and other alleged al-Qaeda leaders are hiding out in the mountains on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

But last week, U.S. ambassador in Kabul Zalmay Khalilzad said that bin Laden was not in Afghanistan.

While on Thursday, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney said he had "a pretty good idea" of where bin Laden was hiding, echoing comments by CIA director Porter Goss, who said he had an "excellent idea".

Neither official specified in which country they believed they had located the Al-Qaeda leader.