ISI info helped CIA kill Osama bin Laden: Imran Khan

Agencies
July 23, 2019

Washington, Jul 23: The ISI provided intelligence to the CIA which helped the US track down and kill Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Monday, in a significant revelation as Islamabad had so far denied having any knowledge of the dreaded al-Qaeda chief in the country until he was shot dead by US Navy Seals in 2011.

Khan, who is in Washington on his maiden official trip, revealed this during an interview with Fox News, US President Donald Trump's favourite channel, when he was asked whether his government would release the jailed Pakistani surgeon Shakeel Afridi who helped the CIA track down Osama in the Pakistani garrison city of Abbottabad on May 2, 2011.

Khan's statement is significant because Pakistan had so far denied that it had any information about the hideout of Osama before he was killed in a covert raid by US special forces.

"It was the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) that gave the information which led to the location of Osama bin Laden. If you ask the CIA it was the ISI which gave the initial location through the phone connection," Khan said.

Responding to questions, Khan was reluctant to give any commitment on the release of the Pakistani doctor Afridi. US President Trump is seeking his release.

Khan said that the release of Afridi is an "emotive issue" for Pakistan as in the country he is considered a spy for the US.

"We in Pakistan always felt that we were an ally of the US and if we had been given the information about Osama, we should have taken him out," he said.

Khan said that Pakistan was fighting the war against terrorism for the US. The raid and killing of Osama, he said "hugely embarrassed Pakistan".

"Here we were an ally of the US and the US did not trust us. And they actually came and bombed and killed a man in our territory,” Khan said. When pointed out that Osama was not just a man, but a terrorist who killed more than 3,000 Americans, Khan said that Pakistan lost 70,000 people in this fight.

"We were fighting this war for the US and we lost all these people fighting this war. So there was obviously a lot of anger about the way this whole thing was done. But you know, that's all in the past,” Khan said.

When the interviewer asked, "You are the prime minister, you can make a decision," Khan said. "There's some decisions that are democracy which even a prime minister finds it difficult, because we do have an Opposition. But this is something that can be negotiated over time."

Khan also said he would be willing to consider releasing Afridi in exchange for Pakistani neuroscientist Aafia Siddiqui, who is serving an 86-year US prison sentence after her 2010 conviction of shooting at FBI agents and soldiers.

"So, we could negotiate some sort of swap," Khan said, adding that this was not talked about during his meeting with President Trump in the White House on Monday.

The negotiations for swap of Afridi and Siddiqui could take place in the future, he said. "We can negotiate. I mean, no negotiations have started," Khan confirmed.

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News Network
April 29,2024

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Congress leader Pawan Khera on Monday, April 29, shared a letter purportedly written by BJP leader Devaraj Gowda to the Karnataka state president of the saffron party expressing concern about the pendrive containing sleazy videos of JD(S) leader and Lok Sabha MP Prajwal Revanna.

The letter was apparently written on December 8, 2023.

The letter, written in Kannada by the Hassan BJP leader states that 2,976 clips were already with Congress leaders and would be ammo for the grand old party during the Lok Sabha elections. The letter also states that if Revanna is allowed to contest under the NDA banner, it is likely to negatively impact the BJP's image in the state.

Sharing this letter, Khera launched an attack on the BJP, asking why the party had chosen to enter into an alliance with JD(S) despite knowing about the pendrive. He also questioned the lack of action, sharing the stage with Prajwal Revanna, and asked who helped him 'escape to Germany'.

Khera also questioned PM Narendra Modi's silence on the matter. Notably, the PM has been vocal about women suffering sexual abuse elsewhere in the country, when a leader of the opposition party has been involved. Modi attacked the TMC government over Sheikh Shahjahan's actions in Sandeshkhali, which allegedly involve sexual harassment and illegal land grabbing.

The Congress leader, however, remained confident that Modi would stay mum on the Hassan sex scandal issue.

"Modi ji will be in Karnataka the entire day today. I can guarantee that he won’t find the courage to utter even a single word on this horrific case in the state wherein his alliance’s politician went around recording thousands of sex videos of several women in his pen drive, and has now absconded abroad!," Khera said on X (formerly Twitter).

While Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah has ordered a special probe into the incident, the JD(S) has distanced itself from Prajwal with H D Kumaraswamy saying that while he wanted to wait for facts to come out after the probe, there was no question of forgiving someone who had committed a crime as per the law.

A sexual harassment and stalking case has been filed against former Karnataka Minister H D Revanna and his son Prajwal, who is at the centre of the Hassan scandal.

A woman complainant said that she worked in Revanna's house from 2019 for three and a half years. During her time there, Revenna allegedly misbehaved with her, as did Prajwal, according to the woman's claims. She also claimed Prajwal sexually assaulted her repeatedly.

She also claimed the MP had used obscene language with her daughter during video calls, forcing her to block the number and quit her job.

H D Revanna is the elder son of JD(S) supremo and former PM H D Deve Gowda, and Prajwal is the party patriarch's grandson.

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News Network
May 4,2024

Mangaluru: Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner (DC) Mullai Muhilan MP said that election for the South West Teachers and Graduates constituencies will be held on June 3.

The notification for the same will be issued on May 9. The last date for filing nominations is May 16. The nominations must be submitted to Regional Commissioner in Mysuru and the last date for withdrawal of nomination is May 17.

The counting of votes will be held on June 6.

As of December 30, 2023 there are 6753 voters in DK district in the South West Teachers Constituency out of which 4520 are women. On the other hand, there are 16,869 graduate voters in the district for the South West graduates constituency.

The voters can submit their application for enrollment in electoral list of the South West Teachers and graduates constituency till May 6. The applications can be submitted at Mangaluru City Corporation or all the taluk offices.

Bulk applications can be submitted by Bar Association, Doctors association, Chartered Accountants Association, registered engineers association for the graduates constituency.

Those who are graduates prior to November 11, 2020 can enroll for voters list in the graduates constituency  by submitting Form 18 along with photo copy of marks card, Aadhaar card, voters' identity card and residential address.

For getting oneself enrolled in the teachers constituency voters, an individual should be teaching for minimum three years prior to November 1, 2023 in high school or higher educational institutions.

For the teachers constituency, educational institutions can submit applications in bulk. If wrong details are furnished in these applications, then they will be punishable under Section 31 of Representation of People Act, warned the DC.

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News Network
April 27,2024

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"I always wanted to be in a bar fight," said a US police official after pinning a Black man down on the ground and kneeling on his neck. The man later died at a hospital.

Ohio Police have come under intense scrutiny following the release of body camera footage showing officers pinning a Black man to the ground in a bar, reminiscent of the events that led to George Floyd's death in 2020.

The video, released by the Canton Police Department, captured the moments leading up to the death of Frank Tyson, a 53-year-old man suspected of leaving the scene of a single-car accident on April 18.

In the footage, officers are seen confronting Tyson inside a bar, where an altercation quickly ensues. Despite Tyson's pleas for help and his repeated cries of "I can't breathe," officers wrestle him to the ground and handcuff him, with one officer applying pressure to his back near his neck while saying, "You're fine." 

Tyson continues to plead for relief while lying on the floor. After several minutes, officers notice his lack of responsiveness and proceed to administer CPR. Paramedics arrive on the scene and transport Tyson to a local hospital, where he later dies.

In the body cam footage, one police officer can be heard bragging about how he always wanted to be in a "bar fight" with one of the patrons of the establishment. 

The circumstances surrounding Tyson's death draw chilling parallels to George Floyd's fatal encounter with Minneapolis Police in 2020 which sparked global outrage. 

The officers involved in Tyson's case, identified as Beau Schoenegge and Camden Burch, have been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. 

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