Pakistani FM speaks about kidnapped reporter and Bin Laden's fate

(5 Feb 2002) 1. Abdul Sattar Pakistani Foreign Minister entering press conference 2. Various cutaways press conference 3. SOUNDBITE (English) Abdul Sattar Pakistani Foreign Minister "There is hope in government circles that Daniel Pearl is alive, and that the government under the direct supervision of the Federal Minister for Interior is engaged in intensive investigations. Unfortunately the investigations have not made as much progress as we would like, because this group that has claimed to have abducted him is totally unknown, we, I myself have never heard of it, never read about this group. It has come out of the blue. 4.Various cutaways of journalists 5. SOUNDBITE (English) Abdul Sattar, Pakistani Foreign Minister. "Osama Bin Laden is the unsolved mystery of the last three months. President Musharraf has asked about it and he like any human being contributed to speculation, what could have happened and that speculation was based on this knowledge that Osama Bin Laden has a kidney problem and he needs dialysis and since he hasn't got dialysis one could assume that something has happened. But frankly, to the best of our knowledge, neither we nor our friends have concrete solid information on the basis of which to arrive at an informed conclusion." 6. Wide shot presser 7. Cutaway journalists STORYLINE: Pakistani Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar, on a visit to Europe to consult with leaders about security and other issues, said on Tuesday that his government was using every available resource to rescue kidnapped U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl . He also said that there was hope within government circles that Pearl was alive. But lack of information about the group believed to be holding Pearl was hampering the investigation, Sattar said. At the time of his disappearance, Pearl was working on a story about Islamic fundamentalists and trying to arrange an interview with the leader of a small militant group, Sheik Mubarak Ali Shah Gilani. The foreign minister also attempted to clarify a recent statement by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf that Osama bin Laden might be dead, unless he was able to get kidney dialysis treatment during the U.S. bombardment of Afghanistan. Sattar said that Musharraf was only speculating when he said bin Laden may have died of kidney failure. It remains unclear whether bin Laden, the top suspect in the September 11th attacks, is dead or alive, Sattar said. Few clues as to his fate and whereabouts have surfaced. It has long been rumoured, but never confirmed, that Osama bin Laden was suffering from several illnesses, including kidney and heart trouble. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...