Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Tasnim Aslam made the remarks on Monday in Islamabad.

Her comments came amid recent speculation about Bin Laden's status following a French newspaper report over the weekend.

French regional newspaper L'Est Republicain cited a leaked French secret service document as saying Bin Laden had died of typhoid in Pakistan last month, but on Sunday France's foreign minister denied any knowledge that the Al-Qaida leader was dead.

Bin Laden is widely believed to be hiding in the rugged region along the Pakistan and Afghan border.

Aslam said that leaders of the Taliban are present in Afghanistan and denied that Pakistan aided the radical Islamic militia.

"We believe that the Taliban leadership is inside Afghanistan, the Taliban resurgence is inside Afghanistan and much of the insurgency is located deep inside Afghanistan far away from the Pakistan border."

A US military campaign ousted the Taliban from power in Afghanistan in late 2001 for harbouring Al-Qaida.

Afghan officials have repeatedly said that Taliban leaders are also hiding in Pakistan from where they stage attacks against Afghanistan's US-backed government.

Pakistan has denied the allegations.

Taliban holdouts have launched an increasing number of attacks this year, particularly in the country's south, targeting Afghan and foreign troops.