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Monday, December 23, 2024  
21 Jumada Al-Akhirah 1446  

Pakistan still holding bin Laden’s wives, children

Pakistani authorities still have three of Osama bin Laden's wives and eight of his children in custody, nearly a week after the U.S. raid that killed the Saudi terrorist leader, and no countries have asked for their return, the government said Sunday.

Pakistan gained custody of bin Laden's family members after the covert U.S. operation on May 2 that killed the al-Qaida chief and four others at his hide-out in the northwestern city of Abbottabad and further strained relations between the two nations.

Their questioning could provide more information on the U.S. military operation and help reveal how bin Laden was able to avoid capture nearly 10 years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that set off a massive manhunt for him. Pakistani authorities, who were deeply embarrassed by the raid, are not allowing the CIA access to them, the Foreign Ministry said.

On Monday, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani was to brief parliament on the raid, which was carried out by two dozen U.S. Navy SEALs who helicoptered across the border from Afghanistan undetected and rappelled into the al-Qaida leader's lair.