KABUL, May 27: A top Afghan intelligence official said on Tuesday his agency received information several months ago that Al Qaeda figurehead Osama bin Laden was hiding in northern Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that bin Laden was said to be in a mountainous region in Chitral, a Pakistani region facing Afghanistan’s eastern province of Kunar.

Pakistani officials have in the past said the world’s most wanted man was hiding in Kunar, a claim strongly rejected by Kabul.

“We’ve received new information that he is hiding in Chitral. We got the information about his presence in that area about four, five months ago,” the Afghan intelligence official said.

US authorities have previously also said the fugitive Al Qaeda chief had taken refuge in Chitral and Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar is also in Pakistan’s tribal areas.—AFP

Opinion

Editorial

Business concerns
Updated 26 Apr, 2024

Business concerns

There is no doubt that these issues are impeding a positive business clime, which is required to boost private investment and economic growth.
Musical chairs
26 Apr, 2024

Musical chairs

THE petitioners are quite helpless. Yet again, they are being expected to wait while the bench supposed to hear...
Global arms race
26 Apr, 2024

Global arms race

THE figure is staggering. According to the annual report of Sweden-based think tank Stockholm International Peace...
Digital growth
Updated 25 Apr, 2024

Digital growth

Democratising digital development will catalyse a rapid, if not immediate, improvement in human development indicators for the underserved segments of the Pakistani citizenry.
Nikah rights
25 Apr, 2024

Nikah rights

THE Supreme Court recently delivered a judgement championing the rights of women within a marriage. The ruling...
Campus crackdowns
25 Apr, 2024

Campus crackdowns

WHILE most Western governments have either been gladly facilitating Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, or meekly...