Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said the United States 'martyred Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden during a televised speech on June 25, 2020. AP Photo
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said the United States 'martyred Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden during a televised speech on June 25, 2020. AP Photo
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said the United States 'martyred Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden during a televised speech on June 25, 2020. AP Photo
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said the United States 'martyred Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden during a televised speech on June 25, 2020. AP Photo

Asia

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan criticised for saying Osama bin Laden was 'martyred'

Al Qaeda leader was killed by US forces during a raid on his hideout in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad in 2011

AFP

June 26, 2020

  • English
  • Arabic

Pakistan's prime minister has stirred up controversy by saying former Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had been "martyred".

Imran Khan made the comment in parliament on Thursday as he was describing the history of Pakistan's troubled relations with the United States since American special forces killed bin Laden in 2011 in the northern city of Abbottabad.

"The Americans came to Abbottabad and killed Osama bin Laden. Martyred him," Mr Khan said.

Martyrs are greatly revered in Islam and the term is generally used for people who die or are killed while in the service of the religion, or in formidable circumstances.

The prime minister faced blowback from opposition figures and observers following the televised speech.

"Imran Khan has fiddled with history, declaring Osama bin Laden as a martyr today," former foreign minister Khawaja Asif told parliament.

"Muslims all over the world are struggling because of the discrimination they face due to recent terrorism & our PM makes it worse by calling obl a martyr of Islam!" Meena Gabeena, a Pakistani activist, wrote on Twitter.

The prime minister's office did not immediately issue a statement responding to the criticism, but science and technology minister Fawad Chaudhry described Mr Khan's remark as "a clear slip of the tongue".

Pakistan has officially denied knowing bin Laden was hiding in the country until he was shot dead in a nighttime raid on May 2, 2011.

The incident was a major national embarrassment and caused already tenuous ties between the US and Pakistan to fray further.

Asad Durrani, a former spymaster, said in 2015 that Pakistan's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency likely knew where he was hiding and hoped to use him as a bargaining chip.

The 9/11 mastermind was tracked down after a 10-year manhunt to Abbottabad, a garrison town north of Islamabad where Pakistan's military academy is headquartered, sparking allegations authorities were colluding with the terror group.

Mr Khan has made repeated controversial statements over the years, including during a trip to the US in 2019 when he claimed the ISI provided Washington with a lead that helped them find and kill Bin Laden.

The cricketer-turned premier has long been criticised by opponents for overly sympathising with militants, with rivals once dubbing him "Taliban Khan".

The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet

'Peninsula'

Stars: Gang Dong-won, Lee Jung-hyun, Lee Ra

Director: ​Yeon Sang-ho

Rating: 2/5

World Mental Health Day
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
While you're here
Nepotism is the name of the game

Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad. 

While you're here
THE%20SWIMMERS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESally%20El-Hosaini%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENathalie%20Issa%2C%20Manal%20Issa%2C%20Ahmed%20Malek%20and%20Ali%20Suliman%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Kareem Shaheen on Canada
More from Neighbourhood Watch
From Zero

Artist: Linkin Park

Label: Warner Records

Number of tracks: 11

Rating: 4/5

Greatest Royal Rumble results

John Cena pinned Triple H in a singles match

Cedric Alexander retained the WWE Cruiserweight title against Kalisto

Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt win the Raw Tag Team titles against Cesaro and Sheamus

Jeff Hardy retained the United States title against Jinder Mahal

Bludgeon Brothers retain the SmackDown Tag Team titles against the Usos

Seth Rollins retains the Intercontinental title against The Miz, Finn Balor and Samoa Joe

AJ Styles remains WWE World Heavyweight champion after he and Shinsuke Nakamura are both counted out

The Undertaker beats Rusev in a casket match

Brock Lesnar retains the WWE Universal title against Roman Reigns in a steel cage match

Braun Strowman won the 50-man Royal Rumble by eliminating Big Cass last

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The biog

Nickname: Mama Nadia to children, staff and parents

Education: Bachelors degree in English Literature with Social work from UAE University

As a child: Kept sweets on the window sill for workers, set aside money to pay for education of needy families

Holidays: Spends most of her days off at Senses often with her family who describe the centre as part of their life too

On Women's Day

The Beach Bum

Director: Harmony Korine

Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Isla Fisher, Snoop Dogg

Two stars

KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI