Pakistan knew about Osama bin Laden’s presence on its soil, says Imran Khan

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Washington: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that his country knew about the presence of Osama bin Laden on its soil and that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) provided information to the CIA, which helped the US track down the Al Qaeda chief.

His comments are in stark contrast to Pakistan’s official stand, as per which, it has denied any knowledge of Osama bin Laden’s whereabouts until he was shot dead in a night-time raid by American special forces on May 2, 2011 in Abbottabad.

Khan, who is on a three-day visit to the US, made the remarks in an interview to Fox News when he was asked whether Pakistan would release jailed doctor Shakeel Afridi, who played a key role in the tracking down of the Al Qaeda chief.

He said that it was the ISI that had provided the initial location through a phone connection to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). “… It was ISI that gave the information which led to the location of Osama bin Laden. If you ask CIA, it was ISI which gave the initial location through the phone connection,” the Pakistan Prime Minister said.