Pakistan Army’s counter-terrorism officials announced on Friday the arrest of Amin ul Haq, a senior Al-Qaeda leader and close associate of the late Osama bin Laden. Haq, who appears on a U.N. sanctions list, was apprehended in Punjab province, marking Pakistan’s first major Al-Qaeda arrest in several years.
The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab Police registered a legal case against Haq, for planning to sabotage key installations in the province. Specific details of his plans or the targeted installations have not been disclosed.
The CTD described Haq’s arrest as a crucial development in ongoing counter-terrorism efforts. DIG Counter-Terrorism Department Usman Akram Gonadal said that Haq, designated as a global terrorist by the United Nations, was taken into custody from Sarai Alamgir, a town in the Gujrat district of Punjab province.
Haq was planning a “large-scale terrorism project” in Pakistan, according to the CTD. The department has registered a case against him and moved him to an undisclosed location for interrogation.
Violence in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
The United Nations Security Council’s sanctions panel identifies Haq as Amin Muhammad ul Haq Saam Khan, noting his role as a security coordinator for bin Laden. The panel listed him for his association with Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, citing activities such as “supplying, selling or transferring arms and related materiel” to these groups.
Bin Laden, the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks on the U.S., was killed in 2011 during a U.S. raid on his hideout in Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Militancy and violence have surged along Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with the Punjabi Army accusing Kabul of failing to root out groups taking shelter on Afghan soil. The Punjabi Pak Army is accusing the Taliban and its subsidiary, TTP, of violence and the recent attack on the Bannu cantonment.
Under the guise of uprooting extremist elements, the Punjabi Pak Army is conducting a sweeping new military campaign. This violence is inflicting damage on the Pashtuns, innocent youth, and peaceful activists. Pashtuns have been caught in the middle of the terrorism that the Army sowed in the region.