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Al-Qaeda leader and close Osama Bin Laden associate, Amin ul Haq, arrested: Pakistan

The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) Punjab Pakistan on Thursday arrested a senior Al-Qaeda leader, Aminul Haq, calling him a close aide of Osama Bin Laden. [Photo collage: Dawn]

Pakistani counter-terrorism officials have arrested Amin ul Haq, an Al-Qaeda leader listed under UN sanctions. Amin ul Haq is described as a close associate of Osama Bin Laden, Reuters reported.

This marks Pakistan’s first Al-Qaeda arrest in many years. The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) in Punjab has filed a legal case against Haq, accusing him of plotting to sabotage key installations in the province. Specific details of the plans or targeted installations were not disclosed.

“In a significant breakthrough in the fight against terrorism, the CTD, in collaboration with intelligence agencies, successfully apprehended Amin ul Haq, a senior Al-Qaeda leader,” a department spokesperson stated. “His name is included in a U.N. list of terrorists,” the statement added.

Pakistan’s interior ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment, the report said.

The UN sanctions panel on ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaeda, which has listed Haq since January 2001, identifies him as Amin Muhammad ul Haq Saam Khan. The panel describes him as a security coordinator for Bin Laden and notes his involvement in supplying arms and related material to Al-Qaeda or Taliban groups.

Osama Bin Laden was killed in 2011 during a US raid on his hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

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