Pakistan’s top civilian and military leadership knew about Osama bin Laden’s presence in the country much before the U.S. Navy SEALs killed him in a raid in 2011, former Defence Minister of Pakistan has claimed.
The Pakistani establishment, the country’s powerful army chief and the intelligence agency ISI were aware that Osama was living in Abbottabad, according to Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar, who was Pakistan’s Defence Minister between 2008 and 2012.
Former Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, the then Army Chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and joint chief of staff knew that Osama was in Pakistan, Mr. Mukhtar told CNN-IBN.
The former Defence Minister’s admissions are contrary to what Pakistan has been claiming so far, that it was unaware of Osama’s presence in the country until the U.S. Navy SEALs killed him in a raid in May 2011.
