WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – CIA Director Leon Panetta  said yesterday the U.S. intelligence agency believes al Qaeda  leader Osama bin Laden is hiding in Pakistan and hopes joint  operations with Pakistani forces will find him.
  
Asked whether he was sure that bin Laden was in Pakistan,  Panetta told reporters: “The last information we had, that’s  still the case.” Bin Laden, who has eluded a U.S. manhunt since the Sept.  11, 2001, attacks, has issued audio and videotapes over the  years demonstrating that he is still alive.