Close X
Tuesday, November 26, 2024
ADVT 
International

Pakistan Knew About Osama's Presence On Its Soil: Imran Khan

Darpan News Desk IANS, 23 Jul, 2019 09:23 PM

    Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that his country knew about the presence of Osama bin Laden on its soil and that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) provided information to the CIA, which helped the US track down the Al Qaeda chief.


    His comments are in stark contrast to Pakistan's official stand, as per which, it has denied any knowledge of Osama bin Laden's whereabouts until he was shot dead in a night-time raid by American special forces on May 2, 2011 in Abbottabad.


    Khan, who is on a three-day visit to the US, made the remarks in an interview to Fox News when he was asked whether Pakistan would release jailed doctor Shakeel Afridi, who played a key role in the tracking down of the Al Qaeda chief.


    He said that it was the ISI that had provided the initial location through a phone connection to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). "... It was ISI that gave the information which led to the location of Osama bin Laden. If you ask CIA, it was ISI which gave the initial location through the phone connection," the Pakistan Prime Minister said.


    Khan did not say anything more on the release of Afridi even as US President Donald Trump has called for the release of the Pakistani doctor.


    The Pakistani leader said the Afridi issue is considered an "emotive" one in Pakistan as he was a US spy.


    "We in Pakistan always felt that we were an ally of the US and if we had been given the information about Osama, we should have taken him out," Khan said.


    The killing of Osama right under Pakistan's nose was a major national embarrassment and deteriorated ties between the two countries.


    Though Pakistan has officially denied knowing that Osama was living on its territory, Asad Durrani, a former spymaster, told Al Jazeera in 2015 that the ISI probably knew where he was hiding and hoped to use him as a bargaining chip before he was killed.

    MORE International ARTICLES

    Pakistan’s Peshawar To Open Country’s First Exclusive School For Sikhs

    Pakistan’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government has allocated funds to build the first Sikh-only school of the province in the budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2019-20.

    Pakistan’s Peshawar To Open Country’s First Exclusive School For Sikhs

    Indian Consulate In Dubai Offer Help To 300 Unpaid Workers

    Indian Consulate In Dubai Offer Help To 300 Unpaid Workers
    The workers, many of them from India, are facing extreme shortage of food and health issues due to stress. Many of them want to return to India, but have their visas expired, which the employer has refused to renew.

    Indian Consulate In Dubai Offer Help To 300 Unpaid Workers

    4 Indian Women Duped By Employer In Dubai Rescued: MEA

    4 Indian Women Duped By Employer In Dubai Rescued: MEA
    Four Indian women workers, who were duped and detained illegally by their employer in Dubai, are being repatriated back to India, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said on Friday.

    4 Indian Women Duped By Employer In Dubai Rescued: MEA

    India May Deliberately Lose To Keep Pakistan Out Of Semis, Says Basit Ali

    Pakistan journalist Saj Sadiq posted a video of Ali making these comments on a TV show on Pakistan-based channel Ary News before Sarfaraz Ahmed’s men defeated New Zealand by six wickets in Birmingham on Wednesday.

    India May Deliberately Lose To Keep Pakistan Out Of Semis, Says Basit Ali

    European Heatwave: France Roasts At 45.9 Degrees Celsius, Two Die In Spain

    European Heatwave: France Roasts At 45.9 Degrees Celsius, Two Die In Spain
    France has hit its highest ever recorded temperature -- 45.9 degrees Celsius -- amid a heatwave in Europe which is disrupting normal life, claiming lives as well as prompting governments to issue health alerts.    

    European Heatwave: France Roasts At 45.9 Degrees Celsius, Two Die In Spain

    Indian Businessman Jeetendra Harish Belani Charged In US With Drug Smuggling, Money Laundering Offences

    An Indian businessman has been charged in the US with conspiring to smuggle drugs into the country and commit money laundering, an American attorney has said. 

    Indian Businessman Jeetendra Harish Belani Charged In US With Drug Smuggling, Money Laundering Offences