The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) and intelligence agencies have arrested a “close associate” of Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden during a joint operation in Gujrat city of Punjab.
Deputy Inspector General (DIG) CTD Usman Akram Gondal said on Friday that the high-profile terrorist, identified as Dr Muhammad Aminul Haq, belongs to Afghanistan but was hiding in Pakistan with the support of fake documents.
DIG Gondal said that the arrested terrorist was the chief security officer of the commander of the terrorist organization, Osama bin Laden, and also stayed with Osama bin Laden in Tora Bora and his ID was 002.
Gondal said that the name of Dr Aminul Haq is also included on the UN global terrorists list.
After the withdrawal of NATO forces, Dr Aminul Haq visited Afghanistan, Usman Gondal said, adding Aminul Haq was also arrested in 2007 but was released due to insufficient evidence.
AFP adds: Counter-terrorism officials swooped in on Aminul Haq in Gujrat, accusing him of planning “sabotage activities” and seeking to “target important installations” in the country. “The arrest of Aminul Haq is a major victory in the ongoing efforts to combat terrorism in Pakistan and worldwide,” a statement from Punjab’s Counter Terrorism Department said.
He was listed by the United States, the European Union, and the United Nations as an associate of Al-Qaeda and Bin Laden, Usman Akram Gondal, said in a press conference. “He resurfaced after the withdrawal of western NATO forces (from Afghanistan). He visited Afghanistan in August and he began his efforts to reorganize Al-Qaeda.”
US troops backed by NATO toppled the Taliban’s first regime in 2001 for refusing to hand over Al-Qaeda militants behind the 9/11 attacks.
Bin Laden was later discovered living in Pakistan and shot dead in a night-time US operation in 2011.
The Taliban took back power in Afghanistan in 2021, kicking out the foreign-backed government after two decades of fighting US and NATO troops.
