‘Slip of tongue’: Pak Minister on Imran Khan’s statement of ‘Osama bin Laden martyr’
A year after Prime Minister Imran Khan described slain al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden as a “shaheed” (martyr), Pakistan’s information minister clarified on Sunday that it was a “tongue slipped” by his boss. .
Speaking in parliament on June 25 last year, Khan said that US forces entered Pakistan and killed bin Laden without informing the government, after which everyone started abusing his country.
“I don’t think there is any country that supported the war on terrorism and faced embarrassment for it. Pakistan was also openly blamed for America’s failure in Afghanistan,” Khan said.
“For Pakistanis across the world, it was a shameful moment when the Americans came and killed Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad… Martyred him. After that the whole world started abusing us. Our ally is our country. Came in and killed someone without telling us. And, America’s war on terrorism led to the death of 70,000 Pakistanis,” he told lawmakers, drawing criticism from the opposition as well as the media.
Bin Laden, then the world’s most wanted terrorist, was killed by US Navy personnel in a covert military operation in the Pakistani garrison city of Abbottabad in May 2011.
Speaking on Jirga, a Geo News program aired on Sunday, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said, “It was a slip of the tongue. He had made it clear,” the minister said, referring to Khan’s controversial remarks.
The controversy resurfaced last week when Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi refrained from calling Osama bin Laden a terrorist in an interview with Afghanistan’s Tolo News.
When the interviewer quoted Prime Minister Imran for calling bin Laden a “martyr”, Qureshi said: “Okay, again. Out of issue. He (the prime minister) was taken out of context. And, of the media. A special class adds to it.”
Asked if he would disagree, the foreign minister paused briefly and then said: “I will let this pass,” the Dawn newspaper reported.
In an editorial, the prominent Pakistani noted that Qureshi’s refusal to call bin Laden a terrorist in an interview with an Afghan media outlet was shocking and defies logic.
“There are diplomatic and ambiguous questions from time to time. However, this certainly doesn’t seem to be one of those examples,” Dawn said.
“Mr. Qureshi could have used this opportunity to explicitly state that Pakistan regards the late al Qaeda mastermind as a terrorist. However, his non-committal comments sent the wrong message to the global audience,” it reported.
“Pakistan’s top leadership must be very clear when it comes to describing fighters like bin Laden,” the editorial stressed.
Asked by Tolo News anchor about Qureshi’s remarks, Information Minister Chaudhry said the foreign minister’s refusal to call bin Laden a terrorist could be related to his desire to “move forward rather than look to the past”.
The information minister said a clarification was issued by Prime Minister Imran’s spokesperson following his remarks last year. He stressed that Pakistan has made the maximum sacrifice in the war against terrorism.
“Our position is completely clear,” said a senior leader of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). [media] Will pick them up from local sources.”
‘Slip of tongue’: Pak Minister on Imran Khan’s statement of ‘Osama bin Laden martyr’
‘Slip of tongue’: Pak Minister on Imran Khan’s statement of ‘Osama bin Laden martyr’
A year after Prime Minister Imran Khan described slain al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden as a “shaheed” (martyr), Pakistan’s information minister clarified on Sunday that it was a “tongue slipped” by his boss. .
Speaking in parliament on June 25 last year, Khan said that US forces entered Pakistan and killed bin Laden without informing the government, after which everyone started abusing his country.
“I don’t think there is any country that supported the war on terrorism and faced embarrassment for it. Pakistan was also openly blamed for America’s failure in Afghanistan,” Khan said.
“For Pakistanis across the world, it was a shameful moment when the Americans came and killed Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad… Martyred him. After that the whole world started abusing us. Our ally is our country. Came in and killed someone without telling us. And, America’s war on terrorism led to the death of 70,000 Pakistanis,” he told lawmakers, drawing criticism from the opposition as well as the media.
Bin Laden, then the world’s most wanted terrorist, was killed by US Navy personnel in a covert military operation in the Pakistani garrison city of Abbottabad in May 2011.
Speaking on Jirga, a Geo News program aired on Sunday, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said, “It was a slip of the tongue. He had made it clear,” the minister said, referring to Khan’s controversial remarks.
The controversy resurfaced last week when Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi refrained from calling Osama bin Laden a terrorist in an interview with Afghanistan’s Tolo News.
When the interviewer quoted Prime Minister Imran for calling bin Laden a “martyr”, Qureshi said: “Okay, again. Out of issue. He (the prime minister) was taken out of context. And, of the media. A special class adds to it.”
Asked if he would disagree, the foreign minister paused briefly and then said: “I will let this pass,” the Dawn newspaper reported.
In an editorial, the prominent Pakistani noted that Qureshi’s refusal to call bin Laden a terrorist in an interview with an Afghan media outlet was shocking and defies logic.
“There are diplomatic and ambiguous questions from time to time. However, this certainly doesn’t seem to be one of those examples,” Dawn said.
“Mr. Qureshi could have used this opportunity to explicitly state that Pakistan regards the late al Qaeda mastermind as a terrorist. However, his non-committal comments sent the wrong message to the global audience,” it reported.
“Pakistan’s top leadership must be very clear when it comes to describing fighters like bin Laden,” the editorial stressed.
Asked by Tolo News anchor about Qureshi’s remarks, Information Minister Chaudhry said the foreign minister’s refusal to call bin Laden a terrorist could be related to his desire to “move forward rather than look to the past”.
The information minister said a clarification was issued by Prime Minister Imran’s spokesperson following his remarks last year. He stressed that Pakistan has made the maximum sacrifice in the war against terrorism.
“Our position is completely clear,” said a senior leader of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). [media] Will pick them up from local sources.”
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