OBL 'close aide' arrested in Gujrat: CTD

LAHORE: Amin al-Haq, a close aide of Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden (OBL), has been arrested from Gujrat, the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) said Friday, in a significant breakthrough.

"The terrorist was apprehended during an intelligence-based operation," DIG CTD Usman Akram Gonadal said, adding that he was taken into custody from Sarai Alamgir, a town in the Gujrat district.

Associated with bin Laden since 1996, the CTD noted that Haq was among the top fighters of the extremist group and that he was involved in several terrorist activities.

Haq — responsible for coordinating security for the deceased Al-Qaeda chief — has also been designated as a terrorist by the United Nations.

The high-ranking officer said that a case had been registered against Haq, noting that the authorities would probe what was a high-profile terrorist doing in Pakistan.

"He was seen in Afghanistan in 2021. He also has Pakistan's ID Card, on which Lahore and Haripur's addresses have been added," the CTD officer added. 

The United Nations Security Council's website shows that Haq, who was born in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province in 1960, was designated as a terrorist on January 25, 2001.

In 2011, the United States troops carried out a raid on bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and eliminated the global terrorist, who was also involved in the deadly 9/11 attacks.