ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Osama bin Laden is alive and in good health, as is a fugitive Taliban chief, Mullah Mohammed Omar, a purported senior commander of the ousted Afghan religious militia said in a TV interview broadcast yesterday.

Pakistan’s Geo television broadcast the interview with a man it identified as a Taliban military commander and a former Afghan aviation minister, Mullah Akhtar Usmani, who said he still receives instructions from Mr. Omar.

Asked whether Mr. bin Laden is hiding in areas of Afghanistan that are under Taliban control, the man said he would not specify where the terrorist mastermind was hiding.

“Thanks be to God, he is absolutely fine,” the man said.

The man wore a black turban to shield his face, making it impossible to recognize him or verify his identity. He wore a gray jacket, and an AK-47 rifle was propped next to him as he spoke in front of a red-patterned, Afghan-style rug.

Geo said the interview was recorded last week, but declined to say where.

Pakistan’s interior minister, Aftab Khan Sherpao, the government’s chief spokesman, Sheik Rashid Ahmed, and officials at the Interior Ministry were not available for comment yesterday.

In Afghanistan, a spokesman for the Defense Ministry also had no immediate comment, and an official at the president’s office could not be reached.

A senior journalist at the independent station said on condition of anonymity that the interview was done near the Afghan town of Spin Boldak, which is close to the Pakistani border.

In Washington, an American intelligence official said: “The belief in the intelligence community is that he’s still in the tribal areas along the Afghan-Pakistani border.”

It seemed reasonable to believe that former Taliban officials still gather to meet, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.

The interview was conducted in broken Urdu, Pakistan’s main language and the language in which Geo broadcasts most of its programs. Most senior Taliban speak Pashtu.

The man said the Taliban are still organized and senior Taliban leaders hold regular consultations.

“Our discipline is strong. We have regular meetings. We make programs,” the man said.

He said Mr. Omar does not attend the meetings but “decisions come from his side.” He did not say where those meetings take place.

In speaking about Mr. Omar, the man referred to the Taliban chief by his self-proclaimed title of “ameerul momineen” – “leader of the faithful.”

“Ameerul momineen is our chief and leader. No one is against him. Our ameerul momineen is alive. He is all right. There is no problem. He is not sick. He is my commander. He gives me instructions,” the man said.

Asked whether he has direct contact with Mr. Omar, the man said: “I will not say whether I meet with him or not. But he is giving instructions.”

An American-led coalition ousted the Taliban in late 2001. The offensive was launched after the Taliban refused to hand over Mr. bin Laden and dismantle Al Qaeda bases in Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on America.