Imran’s OBL remarks ‘a slip of tongue’, clarifies Fawad

ISLAMABAD: Information minister Fawad Chaudhry has clarified that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s terming Osama bin Laden a “martyr” was a “slip of the tongue” and that Pakistan voted on the UN list that declared the slain al-Qaeda chief and his group terrorist.

Chaudhry, speaking to anchor Saleem Safi on Geo News show Jirga on Sunday, acknowledged that Pakistan considers OBL a militant and the al-Qaeda as a terrorist outfit after being asked by Safi to clarify the Prime Minister’s remarks in the National Assembly last year and, more recently, the foreign minister’s refusal to comment on the matter in an interview with an Afghan television channel.

“Pakistan has voted in the UN on the War on Terror [against militants], we are a voter on a [UN] list that declared Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda terrorists,” he said. “Pakistan has sacrificed the most in the war against terrorism,” Chaudhry added.

Last June, during an address to the National Assembly, the Prime Minister had recalled how the Americans had conducted an operation in Abbottabad and “killed Osama Bin Laden — martyred him”.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, most recently, in an interview with TOLO News journalist Lotfullah Najafizada, was asked to comment on the prime minister’s remarks in parliament. He said that the remarks were taken “out of context”.

“He was quoted out of context. And, uh, you know, a particular section of the media played it up,” he added. “Is he a martyr? You disagree? Osama bin Laden?” asked Najafizada. “I will let that pass,” responded Qureshi, after a brief pause.

When asked to comment on why the foreign minister hesitated in answering a question on the Premier’s statement on bin Laden, the information minister said Qureshi may have wanted to put the issue behind him and move forward.