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Courtesy: Zakaria al Sadah
In this photo, taken in Pakistan, Amal and Osama bin Laden's three youngest children (on the right) stand beside three of bin Laden's grandchildren (on the left).
Amal al Sadah, the youngest widow of Osama bin Laden, has denied information included in a confidential Pakistani document, listing details of her life with her late husband. The three-page document, obtained by NBC News, is divided into nine sections -- each one paraphrasing a statement or statements made by Amal to investigators while in Pakistani custody.
The contents of the document were first reported on Thursday by correspondent Azaz Syed of Pakistan's Dawn newspaper.
According to her brother, Zakaria al Sadah -- who spoke with her after the first report was published and asked her about its contents -- Amal denies ever having given any such statements to investigators, adding that most of the information included in the document is factually incorrect. The family's lawyer in Pakistan, Atif Ali Khan, clarified that while Amal might have spoken to various investigators during her time in custody, she denies having provided the level of detail in the document. Neither he nor Zakaria al Sadah would go into detail about which specific pieces of information were incorrect.
The document offers the most detailed narrative yet of where and when bin Laden and his family managed to move through Pakistan, ultimately landing in their final hideaway, just two and a half hours north of the country's capital of Islamabad. According to the document, Amal entered Pakistan legally in July 2000, arriving on a visa issued for seeking medical treatment from the Pakistan Embassy in Sana'a, Yemen. After crossing the border into Kandahar, Afghanistan, she was married to bin Laden and stayed with him there, along with his three other wives.
After the attacks on 9/11, the family "scattered," according to the document. Amal moved with her eldest daughter to Karachi, then reunited with her husband in Peshawar, moving with him to Swat, Haripur, and finally Abbottabad. Amal and bin Laden had five children together, whose ages now range between two and 12. The youngest daughter and son -- Zainab and Hussain, respectively -- were born in Abbottabad, but her older son, Ibrahim, and second daughter, Aasia, are listed as having been born in hospitals in Pakistan.
Amal and her children have been in Pakistani custody for 11 months, since the night of the U.S. forces' raid in Abbottabad that killed her husband. Her brother, Zakaria, is currently in Pakistan working to secure their release so he can take them back home, to Yemen.
Zakaria Al Sadah says he has been able to see his sister, nieces, and nephews nearly a dozen times over the last year during brief, supervised visits. In an interview with NBC News, al Sadah said he takes toys and books for the children each time he visits and avoids talking about the night of the raid, but ultimately just wants for them to be able to start a new life back home.
His mission has been complicated by the ongoing work of a special Pakistani commission, which needed to interview Amal and other family members as part of their investigation into Osama bin Laden's presence in Pakistan, and by the government's recent decision to charge the women for illegally entering and remaining in the country.
Listed in the document is a legal justification for those formal charges against Amal, which reads "she stayed in Pakistan after the expiry of her valid visa, hence, her stay in Pakistan was illegal, which is an offense under section 14 of the Foreigners Act of 1946." The government, according to this argument, has the power to deport her back to Yemen.
Zakaria al Sadah told NBC News he is now putting his faith in the Pakistani judicial system, which he trusts to do the right thing. The family is to be formally charged on Monday.
Leave a Comment:
As far as I can see, the wives of Bin Laden had no choice, under Islamic law, but to stay with their husband. This being said, It seems that they (the wives) did not break the Pakistani law of their own volition.
Shoot the bitch and put all her kids up for adoption. If not, they are all just going to grow up and become little Osamas terrorizing the world.
So, I suppose her "over extended VISA stay" was NOT ILLEGAL ? Doesn't matter if her "husband" was in the country legally, she violated Pakistan IMMIGRATION LAWS.
No, Islamic Law DOES NOT TRUMP a countries law.....that is unless the country is totally ruled under the Islamic Law. You cannot have two laws governing a country, however some Judges in the U.S. think Islamic Law can parallel U.S. laws. These judges need to thrown out of the court system.
Wait....This sounds a lot like some folks in the U.S. who over extended their Visa period.
And that report was in 2006. Think what it is today.
Maybe the Liberals will watch this real close and try to figure out how to use the Pakistani court system to take care of those in the U.S. who are here ILLEGALLY.
alan290: You are right.
Just see the double games Pakis have played on the US and allies and backstabbing of NATO forces.
Agree... these women are not responsable for anything.. they were told to move to pakistan and as women, they had to obey. They should be freed so they can return to their own countries..
Women in these countries have no freedom and no choice. They are slaves to men.
Alan290, by your reasoning then, if you go pull something like the Oklahoma bombings, etc your wife should be shot (and called a bitch) and the kids adopted out? Oh wait, let me elaborate further---if your wife knew what you were doing or not, but was sequestered in a compound, never allowed outside except when escorted by armed guards, no phone, her husband even dictating no tv, radio, car etc....if you told her what the kids should wear, learn, eat and play with....if she were told when to eat and sleep, had to wait in line with three other women for your attention but were commanded to have sex at her husbands demand, you really think when you committed your crime she should be executed??? I don't care much for the whole Muslim chain of thought but that is still barbaric and cruel. Maybe you'd fit in better with them than us.
So the penalty for their 'illegal' activities is deportation to Sudan, and they want to leave and go back to Sudan.
Gee, I wonder what will happen to them?
Considering what bin Laden did to thousands of innocent victims, I could care less what happens to them.
Pakistanis are determined to provide a credible cover story so they can deny hiding him.
Osama's wife and children did not attack us, Bin Laden did. He's dead. End of discussion. Set them free...and monitor them for any terrorist inclinations. Anything suspicious, and we take them out Obama style -with drones. Send them to daddy.
The Pakistanis Government is a joke. We need to get out. There are many countries we need to get out of and mind our own business. We go in with our own agenda, push them around, pay them off and it finally gets old. Just get the hell out. The place is a hell hole anyway. As far as Bin Ladens wife, let her and her kids go. She is one of several wives, was a puppet and was used for breeding. Bin Laden had no respect for women, kids, or anyone. Keep an eye on her and her children but let them leave and resume there nomadic lfe.
Is this a news story, MSNBC? Seriously? WGAF?
A dead Bin Laden is no use to ISI,they want to milk us to the max.
Pravesh Mussaraf used this ,to extract money from us,he is the one who should be
arrested and tried in US court.
You bet.
"Amal entered Pakistan legally in July 2000, arriving on a visa issued for seeking medical treatment from the Pakistan Embassy in Sana'a, Yemen. After crossing the border into Kandahar, Afghanistan, she was married to bin Laden and stayed with him there, along with his three other wives."
See how Pakis sheltered Osama and his family.
Here Bush, Jrs pal Gen Mush is the biggest criminal and backstabber.
Gen Mush, who is hiding in London, should be tried in the US court. His son who is in the US should be kicked back to his Pakistan.
you know, on a tangent, what do cultures that permit plural marriage (mormon fundamentalist, middle eastern) do for all the men who will have no chance to marry because some men hog all the women?
it just doesn't add up.
maridanne,
Geometrically speaking, it does add up.
i pondered for a while but drew a blank. geometrically?
The single men, who can't afford to buy a wife:
go to prostitutes (some branches of Islam have some waiver for them to be considered "married" for the time that they're together, and then "divorced" when he leaves),
become suicide bombers,
live with their parents and take care of their mothers,
become soldiers (and rape women, because it's their due in war, so they've been taught),
work as slave hands in poppy fields or drug mules,
look busy or loiter, whatever
lead lives of quiet desperation,
take the the streets to protest whenever they're told to, for a pat on the head,
kill each other under the direction of the tribe leaders in stupid blood feuds that are centuries old.
Maridanne, there is a higher proportion of female children born than male in the human species just as in most if not all other mammalian species. Hence there's always going to be enough females to go around in that society structure. Good question, though...
Uh, Adela-884556 you are incorrect. The ratio of male:female children born in the world is 101:100, an n some societies up to 105:100. And even if it were reversed, if men have plural marriages there would not be "enough to go around". Just 2% of men having a second wife would leave some man wifeless.
One would think that not living up to ONE woman's expectations would stop even the dullest among us. :)
Great line, Stone.
Yet four of them would only weigh up to one of ours;-)
When you don't care what a woman thinks or wants and when you feel free to beat, rape, or mutilate her, living up to her expectations is the last thing you worry about. And you don't let anything stop you. Should you rape a girl, she'll be imprisoned or killed. Not you.
LOL @ stonepipe and Tea Tarded
rachel-please it was a light attempt at humor, I do not like any story of anyone suffering. It is a inside joke among real men- we wear the pants in the family, my wife tells me what color they will be.
So sad for the children.....that's how we look at it here at least. No over there, they'll be praised for their fathers actions.....i believe this is the medias attempt to get sympothy for them....
So they let Osama stay there for an extended period of time and now that the bribe money is gone (oh, I mean now that he is dead) the Pakistani govt. discovers that she is in violation of her visa and can deport her. How convenient for them.
Visa rules were framed during British rule. How valid they are in 21st century?
Of course, in seventh century desert mindset Islamic bigoted hell hole anything is possible.
Seventh century? At times, that may be giving them too much credit! People in the seventh century would probably be looking at them and say "Look how archaic they are."
Oh yeah, this is a preemptive apology to the Pakistani govt for saying that you knew he was in your country. He was hiding so well that I know there was no way you could have known he was there.
Kill Osama's children, kill his grand children, kill everyone in his family. Make other wanna-be terrorists think twice about what they are doing before they do it. NO MERCY.
Actually, Joe T, in many Muslim societies, just as in North Korea, that is exactly what they would do. We're supposed to be acting more civilized than them, not just as badly. Please don't breed.
So she wants to go home to Yemen, but the pakis won't let her because she has to stand trial to see if she will be deported to Yemen. Yeah, that makes sense.
Old Sarge,
You look disgusting... You are not my hero. Get an education, stop wasting our taxes..
Why?
I read the same thing out of it as Old Sarge. It doesn't make any sense. Either way she goes to Yemen, so what's the problem??
Old Sarge, you look distinguished...You are my hero. Thank you for all you do.
Let them free. They are not responsible for Bin Laden's actions. By the way, how about our killer soldier who butchered those children in Afghanistan? Are we going to put him to death for killing innocent children and women?
I agree, let the kids go. As far as our soldier killing those people, let's look at who was killed. The majority of the family of the village elder who is reported to be a taliban sympathizer, at the least he would be the one they would deal with. So he had to know where they lived and leave the base unnoticed twice. To me it sounds like something that the CIA would do. A black op gone bad, and they cut him loose. They may very well execute him. Secrecy is usually paid for in blood, and no one is off limits when it comes to 'national security'.
yes, Sarinha, and if you follow some of the reasoning here from a couple folks on this vine, his wife and their children should be butchered also just in case they harbor some of their dad's vices. This is for you, JoeT and Alan290. Hopefully you can begin to see how wrong what you are proposing is.
sarinha --
Why have you already decided the wacko U.S. soldier who went on a murder spree will be exonerated? Prejudiced a bit?
Shoulda capped the bitch in BOTH knees. She'd never give head to another freakin' terrorist again, THAT's for goddamn sure!
Jeez, that was SO unlike me. My Prozac must have just worn off. LMAO. Sometimes I crack myself up.
Warren, I'm pretty sure there's a whorehouse or something you would be more comfortable in using that line of reasoning and that sort of language. Oh no wait, you said BROOKLYN?? I guess that explains it. You may already be in one. My mom was from there back in the day and she'd be very ashamed to hear you. When she was raised, men acted like MEN. Not cowardly crap-talking tough-guys.
All of Bin Laden's family should be executed.
yes, and as was discussed earlier, if that is your line of reasoning, that guy who shot up the families in Afghanistan should also be killed (I really do think that) and then his whole family executed (of course just an analogy). If the women operated under their own free will in bin Laden's world there I'd tend to agree with you. But they don't. But the ones who live here, and know about plots. plans, etc. and who do nothing even though they can come and go when they please? Definitely, remove them.
Why is his family still alive?
I would hate to take a peek under that burka!!! Probably boobie trapped!!! lmfao...
When the NATO forces were entering Kandahar in 2001, Pakis airlifted key al-Qaida, Taliban, ISI and others militants by back door from Kandahar.
This includes Mullah Omar, Osama and many including Haqqani militant network leaders.
Still Bush & co went on assuming that Pakis are allies on war on terror and Gen Mush is the best pal!
Gen Mush has the audacity to go on lecture tours in the US and meet top US politicians!
The US and allies pumped in huge economic and military aids into Pakistan.
Still the US and NATO forces did not have a clue that Pakis are providing staging ground and diverting economic aids to militants fighting NATO forces!
What a way to fight wars and lose badly from all angles!
Jonathan,
Still on the "blame Bush" frenzy...just like your hero, Osama...errr, I mean Obama.
Any members of his adult family and others in the compound should have been apprehended and warming a chunk of concrete in an interrogation room at gitmo.
I wouldn't pay 5 cents on the dollar for most of MSNBCs' news regarding the war on terror, but what really bothers me is the fact that the only proof of Bin Ladens' death that we have, is the word of a politician who's running for re-election.
The American people deserved and still deserve proof and if the leaders (who were put in power by WE THE PEOPLE, not God) are unwilling to live up to their appointed duty, we have a problem that's beyond most peoples comprehension.
If you were to hold a vote among the public as to whether or not we should pursue these wars on foreign soil, I would expect a solid 80% would vote to end the wars immediately. However we are not allowed to create that vote.
Our military was intended to be a standing force for the defense of our country, but that's not how it's being used. If it were, 9/11 likely would not have happened. I look at two things; WW2 left America with a large military, a wealth of Nazi technology and a perfect reason to keep and use both, Russia. Both sides did basically the same thing, more troops, more hardware, and used propaganda to scare their respective populations to justify spending huge sums of taxpayers money on fighting the cold war. The other main thing the war did was to lift us out of the depression, i.e., war is a money maker. Big time money.
These were the words of president Eisenhower during his Farewell address to the nation, and I believe this was a turning point for what "we the people" means. Currently we are "we the pain in the ass" to our leaders, and now it's the military/ industrial/ banking complex, and our country is not OUR country anymore. We all see it and we all know it, but unfortunately we're distracted and complacent. Had our founding fathers acted as we are, we would all be driving on the wrong side of the road and having tea and crumpets instead of pizza and beer.
Myself, I like pizza and beer just fine, and I'm aware. You should be too, after all, your kids are going to have to live here too, and live with the mess we're leaving as their inheritance.
HEAR, HEAR!!
Boon, you are spot-on re the military/industrial/banking complex....and complex it is. We are no longer using the military to "defend our borders," OUR freedom and democracy. The obscene amount of money budgeted for the military industrial complex combined with the world banking complex insures business as usual. And meanwhile the lefties, righties & middle-class are fighting over crumbs and about who is more moral and patriot than whom. The success of the military complex relies on uneducated and non-critical thinkers.
Relief! I can post! CNN is so messed up! Since the IE9 update....can't post!
Maybe some US TV producer will rescue her and start a reality show called "Real Housewives of Abbottabad".
Might they decide to to make their country and the world a better place for all,we wish,but it's more likely they will be killed trying to carry out their father,grand father's twisted visions..Education could change that,provided they are free to chose their own destiny,time will tell.
Well, the children are beautiful and I hope they end up having quality lives...without oppression from within their own culture--and without being judged or convicted by the "culture" frequenting this comment board.
People who see no danger in danger are pretty funny, especially when they are being hunted and persecuted for what, and by those that, they previously defended.