US informed about Osama bin Laden hiding in Pakistan much before his death: Former Pak PM Yusuf Gilani
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Islamabad, Feb 3: In a shocking revelation, the United States had informed Pakistan that the dreaded Al-Qaeda leader was hiding in their country much before the American commandos killed Osama bin Laden in 2011.
"Condoleezza Rice (former US Secretary of State) had visited Pakistan and her apprehensions were that he (bin Laden) was in Pakistan," Gilani said during the interview. She had visited Pakistan four times when she served as the Secretary of State, while Gilani served as Pakistan's Prime Minister from 2008 to 2012.
According to Gilani, Rice met him in the first week of December 2008, during a surprise visit to Islamabad, soon after the Mumbai terror attacks. "When she shared that, I said it was disinformation," Gilani told Geo News, on being asked about his response to Rice.
Notably, in 2011, Gilani, while addressing Pakistan's National Assembly about bin Laden's killing, had emphatically denied any knowledge of the Al-Qaeda leader hiding in his country. He had begun his speech on the history of Pakistan and transitioned into points on how Pakistan cannot be held responsible for al Qaeda's actions. He concluded with the Pakistan-US relations and blamed the media for the spin on comments made about Pakistan’s role
Osama bin Laden's son Hamza was killed in a US counter-terrorism operation in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region in 2019, said then-US President Donald Trump. Bin Laden's death was an unexpected blow to Al-Qaida and their calculations in Afghanistan. Not only Osama Bin Laden's death was a financial and strategic blow to the terrorist organisation but he was also a face that symbolised terrorist activities.
It is pertinent to mention that the shocking revelation comes ahead of the general elections in Pakistan on February 8 and was made by former Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, during an interview with Geo News. He was the Prime Minister of Pakistan during the US raid against Osama Bin Laden.
"Condoleezza Rice (former US Secretary of State) had visited Pakistan and her apprehensions were that he (bin Laden) was in Pakistan," Gilani said during the interview. She had visited Pakistan four times when she served as the Secretary of State, while Gilani served as Pakistan's Prime Minister from 2008 to 2012.
According to Gilani, Rice met him in the first week of December 2008, during a surprise visit to Islamabad, soon after the Mumbai terror attacks. "When she shared that, I said it was disinformation," Gilani told Geo News, on being asked about his response to Rice.
Further, Gilani said it was an "intelligence failure of the world", on being asked whether finding bin Laden in the Pakistani garrison city of Abbottabad came as a shock later.
Also Read: Pakistan talks about peace while its PM glorifies terrorists like Osama Bin Laden as martyrs: India at UN
Interestingly, the former Pak PM said they would have helped the US to find the terrorists as Islamabad believes they are against terrorism. "If they had any evidence they should have given it to us. We would have helped them because we were against terrorism, and we were fighting a war against terrorism and lost many precious lives of military men and civilians who were martyred, and we also lost billions of dollars," Gilani said.
In an interview with GeoNews, former prime minister, Yusuf Raza Gilani has revealed that former US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice had shared apprehension that Osama was in Pakistan before the CIA operation in Abbottabad. Gillani had negated saying that it was disinformation pic.twitter.com/QlvIRRTJ5q
— Ihsanullah Tipu Mehsud (@IhsanTipu) February 2, 2024
Notably, in 2011, Gilani, while addressing Pakistan's National Assembly about bin Laden's killing, had emphatically denied any knowledge of the Al-Qaeda leader hiding in his country. He had begun his speech on the history of Pakistan and transitioned into points on how Pakistan cannot be held responsible for al Qaeda's actions. He concluded with the Pakistan-US relations and blamed the media for the spin on comments made about Pakistan’s role
Speaking on the same the former Prime Minister said Pakistan's motive was to stop the international media because bin Laden was not a Pakistani citizen and came from abroad.
Also Read: US offers 1 million $ reward to find Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden's son Hamza Bin Laden
Osama bin Laden's son Hamza was killed in a US counter-terrorism operation in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region in 2019, said then-US President Donald Trump. Bin Laden's death was an unexpected blow to Al-Qaida and their calculations in Afghanistan. Not only Osama Bin Laden's death was a financial and strategic blow to the terrorist organisation but he was also a face that symbolised terrorist activities.