Islamabad:
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif received money from al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden to contest elections against Benazir Bhutto-led Pakistan People’s Party in 1990, a new book has claimed.
The book titled ‘Khalid Khawaja: Shaheed-i-Aman’ by Shamama Khalid, the wife of former ISI operative Khalid Khawaja, claims that Sharif’s pledge of introducing an Islamic system attracted Khawaja as well as Osama.
“Chief of PML-N Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif received funding from Osama Bin Laden, founder of Al-Qaeda, to contest elections against Benazir Bhutto-led Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) after the end of Zia regime,” the book states.
But even though Osama funded Sharif heavily, the latter backtracked from all his promises after coming into power, the Dawn reported today.
The book also carries a note from former Inter-Services Intelligence director general, retired Lt-Gen Hamid Gul, which claims that Khawaja was very close to Sharif for some time.
According to the book, Palestinian Sunni Abdullah Azzam, who is also known as the ‘father of global jihad’ and Osama’s mentor, introduced Khawaja to the Al Qaeda head honcho.
The book claims that Khawaja was killed by a splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban while he was on a peace mission in the restive tribal areas.
Osama was killed in a midnight raid by the US Navy SEALs
in Pakistan’s garrison town of Abbottabad in 2011. PTI SAI AKJ
Two Pak brothers to be hanged for honour killing of sister
Lahore, Feb 29 (PTI) In an unusual move, a Pakistani court today sentenced to death twice two brothers for killing their sister and her husband in 2009 to protect the family’s “honour”.
Ironically, the sentencing came on a day when Pakistan was celebrating its second Oscar win when filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy’s documentary on honour killings in the country won the prestigious award in Los Angles.
A sessions court’s here sentenced to death Ahsan and Zeeshan Butt who had shot dead their sister, Saba, and her husband, Shafiq, for marrying out of their own will.
Judge Naveed Iqbal also imposed a fine of Rs one million each on the convicted men.
The couple, who were residents of Yaki Gate area of Lahore’s walled city, had married of their free will in 2009 and had moved away. But Ahsan and Zeeshan invited them over for a meal and shot dead the couple only a few months after their marriage.
More than 500 men and women died in honour killings in 2015, according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.
Honour-killing is a big issue in Pakistan and every year dozens of women are killed.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said last week that there was no honour in honour-killing and promised to take measure to wipeout the practice.
