PM Imran Khan lands in hot waters for calling Osama bin Laden ‘shaheed’
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday called Osama bin Laden a “shaheed” (martyr) and said that Islamabad faced “embarrassment” by taking part in America’s war on terror.
Earlier today, Prime Minister Imran delivered an all-encompassing speech in the parliament.
Speaking about the country’s relations with the United States, he said Pakistan had to face a lot of “humiliation” despite supporting Washington in the ‘war on terror’ and was then blamed for the US’s failures in Afghanistan.
PML-N senior leader Khawaja Asif on Thursday lambasted Prime Minister Imran Khan over his speech in the National Assembly in which the premier referred to slain Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden as “martyred”.
Imran Khan’s description of Osama Bin Laden as a martyr badly undermines Pakistan’s narrative that it no longer supports terrorists. If he just misspoke, one would expect a clarification. I don’t think there’s been one issued yet. It’s not a good look, no matter how you slice it.
— Michael Kugelman (@MichaelKugelman) June 25, 2020
Imran Khan’s description of Osama Bin Laden as a martyr badly undermines Pakistan’s narrative that it no longer supports terrorists. If he just misspoke, one would expect a clarification. I don’t think there’s been one issued yet. It’s not a good look, no matter how you slice it.
— Michael Kugelman (@MichaelKugelman) June 25, 2020
Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda has been linked to the massive Karsaz attack, the Marriott hotel bombings, and Benazir Bhutto’s assassination.
Pakistan fought one of the world’s vilest insurgencies to get here. We’ve glorified our own killers for far too long.
— Asad Rahim Khan (@AsadRahim) June 25, 2020
Osama Bin Laden was a murderer who indiscriminately killed people including Muslims. He was not a shaheed and he is burning in hell. Alhumdulliah
— Shahbaz Taseer (@ShahbazTaseer) June 25, 2020
Anyone who kills innocent people is a terrorist said @ImranKhanPTI but Osama bin Laden is a martyr shaheed! The con man PM speaks out of both sides of his mouth pic.twitter.com/bjfmaX47F2
— Mohammad Taqi (@mazdaki) June 25, 2020
Dear @ImranKhanPTI:
You called Osama bin Laden a “Shaheed” [Martyr of Islam] today on the floor of Pakistan’s parliament.
If this was by mistake, please issue a clarification.
If you believe this, please resign.
Your compatriots, and the world, deserve clarity, or an apology.
— Wajahat S. Khan (@WajSKhan) June 25, 2020
“Imran Khan called Osama bin Laden shaheed. Bin Laden brought terrorism to our lands, he was a terrorist through and through and he [premier] calls him shaheed?” said Asif during the National Assembly session.
“Muslims all over the world are struggling because of the discrimination they face due to recent terrorism & our PM makes it worse by calling obl a martyr of Islam!” Meena Gabeena, a Pakistani activist, said on Twitter.
Imran Khan has made repeated controversial statements over the years, including during a trip to the US in 2019 when he claimed the ISI provided Washington with a lead that helped them find and kill bin Laden.
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