Pakistan's Taliban militants yesterday said they would not attack next week's general election and denied involvement in the disappearance of the country's ambassador to neighbouring Afghanistan.

"Our central leadership have decided that as we have nothing to do with the elections, there would be no attacks from our people," spokesman Maulvi Omar said.

"Neither do we support the process of the election nor do we have any opposition to it and if any attack takes place before or on election day, our mujahid won't be involved in it," he said by telephone from an undisclosed location.

The Pakistani Taliban also denied having anything to do with the disappearance of Tariq Azizuddin, Pakistan's Ambassador in Kabul, who went missing two days ago on his way to the Afghan capital from Peshawar.

"We have no links with it. We don't know anything about it," Omar said.

Pakistan's foreign office meanwhile said it was "sure" that the envoy was still alive.

It would not, however, confirm reports that Taliban rebels were holding him and had demanded that a senior militant commander captured in Pakistan be released in exchange.

PHOTO CAPTION

Armed men patrol in the Khyber tribal region close to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in January. (AFP)