Islamabad, May 5(ANI): Bombarded with questions about Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden's lengthy presence in Abbottabad, Pakistan has hit back at the United States, reminding it of the 'making' of the world's most wanted terrorist.
The Saudi-born terrorist, who had evaded capture for a decade, was killed Sunday night in a top secret operation involving a small team of US Special Forces in Abbottabad city, located 50 kilometres northeast of Islamabad and 150 kilometres east of Peshawar.
American and European intelligence officials increasingly believe that active or retired Pakistani military or intelligence officials provided some measure of aid to bin Laden, allowing him to stay hidden in a large compound just a mile from the Pakistan Military Academy, according to a media report.
Obama administration officials have demanded that Pakistan quickly provide answers to specific questions about bin Laden and his years-long residence in a Pakistani city surrounded by military installations, another newspaper said.
In a statement regarding the death of the Al Qaeda chief in a US forces operation in the surroundings of Abbottabad on May 2, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said: "Osama bin Laden is history."
"Let us also not forget that there is also a history to the making of Osama bin Laden and what he signified," she added.
Awan emphasized that Laden was neither born in Pakistan nor was he invited to reside in the country.
"Pakistan is, certainly, is not the birthplace of Al-Qaeda, nor did we invite Al-Qaeda or Osama bin Laden to Pakistan," she said.
She said that Al-Qaeda members were dispersed from Afghanistan due to the NATO operation in that country after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.
"Following 9/11, the Coalition military operations in Afghanistan resulted in the dispersal of Al-Qaeda. It is worth-reminding that around forty Al-Qaeda key operatives were tracked and arrested by Pakistani intelligence and security agencies in the last ten years in various cities in Pakistan. Pakistan played an important role in degrading and dismantling of the Al-Qaeda networks," she pointed out.
"It is also worth recalling that Al-Qaeda declared war against Pakistan and targeted our people and institutions. They launched waves after waves of suicide bombers," she added. (ANI)
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