'We have good leads on Osama'
2005-02-18 16:54
Islamabad - Television, radio and newspaper ads run by the United States in Pakistan asking for leads to Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaeda kingpins have yielded useful information, a US official said on Friday.
The brief television spots flash up colour pictures of bin Laden and his 13 most wanted henchmen while a voiceover in Urdu, the national language of Pakistan, offers rewards of up to $25m.
"During the last couple of days we got some 28 calls and a number of them gave useful information," said US embassy spokesperson Greggory Crouch. He declined to specify if the information was related to bin Laden.
The first ad on state-run Radio Pakistan aired on Wednesday while the television campaign started two weeks ago, Crouch said. The first newspaper advertisement ran on January 7 in a national Urdu-language daily.
Pakistan is a key ally in Washington's war on terror and has already captured around 600 Al-Qaeda suspects, most of whom have been handed over to the United States.
US officials believe bin Laden and other key militants have been hiding somewhere along the mountainous border between Pakistan and Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001.
The ads - created by the US State Department's Rewards For Justice campaign - will continue for about six weeks in the key Pakistani regional languages, but may be extended, Crouch said.
The advert gives a toll-free number and email and website addresses. It also offers to relocate anyone who provides crucial information to any third country, along with their family.
Since starting in 1984, the Rewards for Justice Program has paid more than $57m to 43 people who have provided credible information that has resulted in the capture or death of terrorists or prevented acts of international terrorism, according to the state department's website.
- AFP