Delay in deporting bin Laden relatives
Source: Agencies |
April 20, 2012, Friday
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Print Edition
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PAKISTAN could take several more days to deport the widows and children of Osama bin Laden to Saudi Arabia, and perhaps Yemen, the former al-Qaida leader's brother-in-law said yesterday.
The three women and two children were detained by Pakistani security forces after a secret US special forces raid killed bin Laden in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad last May.
This month, a Pakistani court sentenced the women to 45 days in prison for illegally staying in the country. It ordered their deportation after the prison term, which began on March 3 when they were formally arrested.
Once outside Pakistan, bin Laden's relatives could reveal details about how the world's most wanted man was able to hide in Pakistan for years, possibly assisted by elements of the country's powerful military and spy agency.
Yemen-born Amal Al-Sadeh, the youngest widow, and her four children were among 16 people detained by Pakistani authorities after the raid. Two other wives from Saudi Arabia were also detained.
There was speculation the relatives would be deported on Wednesday but Zakariya al-Sadeh, Amal's brother, said paperwork between Pakistani authorities and the Saudi and Yemeni embassies needed processing.
"We need a few more days," he said. "This will require time."
Any revelations about ties to bin Laden could embarrass Pakistan and infuriate the United States, which staged a decade-long hunt for bin Laden after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
The three women and two children were detained by Pakistani security forces after a secret US special forces raid killed bin Laden in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad last May.
This month, a Pakistani court sentenced the women to 45 days in prison for illegally staying in the country. It ordered their deportation after the prison term, which began on March 3 when they were formally arrested.
Once outside Pakistan, bin Laden's relatives could reveal details about how the world's most wanted man was able to hide in Pakistan for years, possibly assisted by elements of the country's powerful military and spy agency.
Yemen-born Amal Al-Sadeh, the youngest widow, and her four children were among 16 people detained by Pakistani authorities after the raid. Two other wives from Saudi Arabia were also detained.
There was speculation the relatives would be deported on Wednesday but Zakariya al-Sadeh, Amal's brother, said paperwork between Pakistani authorities and the Saudi and Yemeni embassies needed processing.
"We need a few more days," he said. "This will require time."
Any revelations about ties to bin Laden could embarrass Pakistan and infuriate the United States, which staged a decade-long hunt for bin Laden after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
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