Imran Khan calls Osama bin Laden a martyr in Pakistan Parliament

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has called dreaded terrorist and Al-Qaeda bossman Osama bin Laden a martyr. Imran Khan who had earned the nickname ‘Taliban Khan’ for justifying the Taliban movement had moderated his views after becoming the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

On Thursday, however his statement that Osama bin Laden was a ‘shaheed’ (martyr) shocked many. He made that statement on the floor of Pakistan’s parliament.While discussing events that embarrassed Pakistan, he said the Americans who entered Pakistan’s airspace and killed Osama bin Laden in Abbotabad. He then quickly corrected ‘maar diya’ (killed) to ‘shaheed kar diya’ (martyred).

That he said it in the National Assembly raised many eyebrows.

PM Pakistan Imran Khan considers Osama bin Laden a martyr. pic.twitter.com/tax0t3V5wg

— Naila Inayat (@nailainayat) June 25, 2020

“….Ek hua ji Osama bin Laden ko Americans ne Abbottabad main maar diya…shaheed kar diya. Uske baad kya hua? Sari duniya ne hume gaaliyan di…bura bhala humain kaha. Yaani hamara ally hamare mulaq main aake maar raha hai kisi ko aur hamain hi nahi bata raha. 70,000 Pakistani mar chuke hain unki jang ke liye. Yani itni jyada jillat. (The Americans came and killed Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad…martyred him. What happened after that? The entire world hurled abuses at us. Our own ally (US) entered our country and killed someone without even telling us about it. It was this big a humiliation…More than 70,000 Pakistanis have already died in their (US) war,” Imran Khan said in his sppech.

Osama bin Laden was killed in Abbottabad near Pakistani capital Islamabad on May 2, 2011, nearly 10 years after the 9/11 attacks on America which killed over 3,000 people. Osama bin Laden was believed to be behind the planning of the attack that shocked the world and led the US to attack Afghanistan.

Osama bin Laden was the world’s most-wanted terrorist and the US had bombed large parts of Afghanistan to eliminate him. He was hiding in a residential complex in Abbottabad, the cantonment town, not far from Islamabad. It was only after his death that the world came to know about his whereabouts.

The compound was secretly guarded and the secret was well kept. But it is alleged that the top echelons of the Pakistani Army did know about his safe house and ensured his protection.

All through those 10 years, Pakistani Army received money from the US for its war on terror and the search for Osama bin Laden.

The Afghan Taliban that sheltered and protected Osama bin Laden were ousted from Afghanistan by Afghans with the help of US troops. Pakistan had its own Taliban who would attack and kill Pakistanis, including Army personnel.

When Imran Khan was in Opposition, he had a reconciliatory tone about the Taliban and often defended them. Once in power, he changed tack and condemned all terrorism.

This is the first time that a Pakistani prime minister has referred to Osama bin Laden as ‘shaheed’. The term shaheed is used for fighters who make the supreme sacrifice in the way of Allah or die in Jihad.

IMRAN’s SOFT CORNER FOR OSAMA BIN LADEN

This is, however, not the first time that Imran Khan has showed a soft corner for Osama bin Laden.

In a TV interview before he became the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan had refused to call Osama bin Laden a terrorist.

He, in fact, went ahead drawing a parallel with the first US President George Washington, saying he was a “terrorist” for the British and freedom fighter for others.

However, in September last year during his US tour, Imran Khan said Pakistan had informed American security agencies about the presence of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad. But he suggested that the US should not have undertaken a “covert” operation to kill Osama bin Laden keeping Pakistan completely in the dark.

Imran Khan had told an American news channel that the US operation left Pakistan “hugely embarrassed” as it was an ally of the US but was not trusted in this operation.

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