Pakistani anti-terrorist police have arrested a leader of the al-Qaeda terrorist network who was a close associate of Osama bin Laden, authorities said Friday.
Deputy Inspector General of Police Usman Gondal said Amin ul Haq was captured by the Punjab province’s Anti-Terrorism Department after a years-long manhunt. The arrest foiled possible attacks planned by Haq in the province, Gondal told a news conference.
His name is included on a UN sanctions list of individuals linked to Al Qaeda. Of Afghan origin, he is accused of working as a financier for the terrorist network and supplying weapons to the insurgents.
Following the September 11 attacks, Pakistan arrested and handed over several senior al-Qaeda officials to the United States, including Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Ramzi Binalshibh and Abu Zubaydah.
Pakistan’s support for the United States has angered the insurgents, who have been attacking security forces and civilians.
On Friday, two people were killed in a roadside bomb attack in South Waziristan, a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban in the northwest, on the border with Afghanistan.
Pakistan has seen a surge in violence since the Afghan Taliban took power in Afghanistan in 2021. Most of the attacks have been attributed to the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan. They are an independent group, but allied with the Afghan Taliban.
