Islamabad: A Pakistani judicial panel probing
slain al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden's presence in the country
has quizzed the widow of his Kuwait-born courier, whose
actions apparently led the CIA to the world's most wanted man.
The commission conducted an "exhaustive interview" of the
widow of Abu Ahmed Al-Kuwaiti alias Arshad Khan yesterday, an
official statement said.
The woman was injured during the covert US military
operation that killed bin Laden and Al-Kuwaiti in Abbottabad
on May 2.
The commission, headed by former Supreme Court judge
Javed Iqbal, has been tasked by the government to probe how
bin Laden's presence in Pakistan went undetected for almost
five years, the circumstances of the US raid and any security
lapses that may have occurred on May 2, and to make
recommendations based on its findings.
The panel is now expected to record the statements of
several military officers, including the Director General at
the Joint Staff Headquarters, Assistant Chief of Air Staff
(Operations), and representatives of the Military Operations
Directorate.
Al-Kuwaiti, who was of Pakistani origin, was bin Laden's
most trusted courier. His family lived in the same compound in
Abbottabad with bin Laden's family and was left behind by US
forces after the raid.
Both families were taken into custody by Pakistani
intelligence agencies.
Subsequent investigations revealed the compound had been
purchased by Al-Kuwaiti.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, October 18, 2011, 13:56