Revealed: Pakistan govt was aware of Osama’s presence, claims ex-minister

New Delhi, Oct 15: In a shocking revelation, former Pakistani defence minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukthar has claimed that Pakistan establishment was aware of al-Qaeda leader Osama- Bin Laden's presence in the country.

Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar was the defence minister of Pakistan when Osama was killed in a US raid at his Abbottabad residence near Islamabad.

"It has been an open secret that elements within Pakistan's military and political establishment must have been aware of Bin Laden's location, perhaps even helping him to safe haven in the years after the United States launched its invasion of Afghanistan," said Mukhtar in an interview with Indian TV channel CNN IBN.

Since the killing of Osama on May 2, 2011, Pakistan has always denied that authorities in the country were aware about the presence of al-Qaeda leader.

Former minister replied yes when he was asked that then President Asif Ali Zardari, then army chief Ashfaq Kayani, were aware about the presence of Osama inside the country.

OneIndia News