Published: 16:38, July 19, 2024
Al-Qaeda leader arrested in Pakistan's Punjab
By Xinhua
Military fighters affiliated with former Al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), attend prayers at an open air stadium on the first day of the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday marking the end of the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, in Idlib on June 16, 2024. (PHOTO / AFP)

ISLAMABAD — The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of Pakistan's east Punjab province has arrested Al-Qaeda leader Amin Muhammad Ul Haq Saam Khan during a raid in Jehlum district, an official statement said on Friday.

"In a major operation, the CTD Punjab has arrested Osama bin Laden's close associate Amin ul Haq whose name is included in the UN's global list of terrorists," the CTD said in the statement.

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Calling it a significant development in the ongoing war against terrorism, the statement said that Khan was involved in several terrorist activities and was planning to carry out a large-scale terrorist attack in the country.

He was on the UN list for "participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing or perpetrating of acts or activities by, in conjunction with, under the name of, on behalf of or in support of "supplying, selling or transferring arms and related material to" or "otherwise supporting acts or activities of" Usama bin Laden (deceased) and Al-Qaeda."