Pakistan ? Pakistan’s president and foreign ministry said Monday they have no information about where Osama bin Laden is hiding or whether he is dead or alive, but they have placed a high priority on finding out.

The comments came amid renewed speculation about bin Laden’s status following a French newspaper report over the weekend that cited a leaked French secret service document as saying the al-Qaida leader had died of typhoid in Pakistan last month.

France’s foreign minister later denied any knowledge that the al-Qaida leader was dead.

Bin Laden, who has a $25 million U.S. government bounty on his head, is widely believed to be hiding in the rugged region along the Pakistan and Afghan border. But no solid information on his location has emerged since the ouster of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan five years ago forced him into hiding.