WASHINGTON: Pakistan’s main spy agency provided the US with a lead that helped them find and kill Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, Prime Minister Imran Khan said Monday.
Pakistan has until now officially denied having any knowledge of the terror chief until he was shot dead in a night-time raid by US special forces on May 2, 2011, an incident that was a major national embarrassment and caused ties between the two countries to plummet.
Khan, who is visiting Washington on his first official trip, made his claim in an interview with Fox News when he was asked whether his country would release a jailed doctor whose fake immunization drive helped the US track and kill bin Laden in 2011.
“This is a very emotive issue because Shakeel Afridi in Pakistan is considered a spy,” he told host Bret Baier, referring to the doctor.
“We in Pakistan always felt that we were an ally of the US and if we had been given the information about Osama bin Laden, we should have taken him out.”
Baier then asked if Khan understood the skepticism around the Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) for leaking key information, to which Khan replied:
“And yet it was ISI that gave the information which led to the location of Osama bin Laden.
“If you ask CIA it was ISI which gave the initial location through the phone connection.”
It was not immediately clear what Khan was referring to and he did not provide more detail.
The 9/11 mastermind was tracked down after a 10-year manhunt to Abbottabad, a garrison town north of Islamabad where Pakistan’s military academy is headquartered, sparking allegations authorities were colluding with the terror group.
A leaked Pakistani government report in 2013 said bin Laden arrived in Pakistan in the spring or summer of 2002 — after the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan — and settled in Abbottabad in August 2005.
The report, which coined the term “governance implosion syndrome” to explain the extent of official failures to detect him, said he was once stopped for speeding and enjoyed wearing a cowboy hat.
Two former senior Pakistani military officials told AFP in 2015 that a defector from Pakistani intelligence assisted the US in its hunt for bin Laden, but denied the two countries had officially worked together.
Pakistani intelligence led CIA to bin Laden — Imran Khan
Pakistani intelligence led CIA to bin Laden — Imran Khan
- Pakistan always felt that we were an ally of the US, says Khan
- 9/11 mastermind was tracked down after a 10-year manhunt to Abbottabad
Islamic military coalition, Pakistan to deepen cooperation to combat ‘terrorism’ — Pakistani military
- Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition is a 43-member alliance that includes Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, UAE and other nations
- The Pakistani military statement comes after a meeting between IMCTC secretary-general and the chief of Pakistani defense forces in Rawalpindi
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC) have reaffirmed their commitment to deepening cooperation, including intelligence sharing and capacity building, to jointly combat “terrorism” and “extremism,” the Pakistani military said on Monday.
The IMCTC is a 43-member military alliance that was formed on Saudi Arabia’s initiative in Dec. 2015 to consolidate Muslim countries’ efforts in countering “terrorism.”
A 17-member IMCTC delegation is visiting Pakistan from Feb. 2-6 to conduct a training at National University of Sciences and Technology on “Re-integration and Rehabilitation of Extremist Elements,” according to the Pakistani military.
On Monday, IMCTC Secretary-General Maj. Gen. Mohammed bin Saeed Al-Moghedi held a meeting with Chief of Pakistani Defense Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir to discuss cooperation among IMCTC member states.
“During the meeting, matters of mutual interest were discussed, with particular emphasis on regional security dynamics and enhanced cooperation in counter-terrorism efforts,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s media wing, said in a statement.
“Both sides reaffirmed their shared commitment to combating terrorism and extremism through collaborative strategies, intelligence sharing, and capacity building among member states.”
The IMCTC features Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, Afghanistan, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Palestine, UAE, Bangladesh and other nations. In 2017, Pakistan’s former army chief Gen. (retd) Raheel Sharif was appointed as the IMCTC commander-in-chief.
During discussions with Major General Al-Moghedi, Field Marshal Munir appreciated the role of IMCTC in fostering stability and promoting coordinated counterterrorism initiatives across the Islamic world, according to the ISPR.
The IMCTC secretary-general acknowledged Pakistan’s significant contributions and sacrifices in the fight against militancy and lauded the professionalism of Pakistan’s armed forces.
“The meeting underscored the resolve of both sides to further strengthen institutional collaboration for peace, stability, and security in the region,” the ISPR added.
Pakistan enjoys cordial ties with most Muslim countries around the world, particularly Gulf Cooperation Council countries. In Sept. 2025, Pakistan signed a landmark defense pact with Saudi Arabia according to which an act of aggression against one country will be treated as an act of aggression against both.
