Osama’s family leaves for Jeddah

Pakistan deported the family of former al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden including his three widows and children to Saudi Arabia through a special plane, which arrived here late on Thursday evening with intelligence and other officials from Riyadh on board. Escorted by a heavy contingent of local police, the bin Laden’s family left for the airport in a coaster from a house in which they were staying in Islamabad’s G-6 sector.
The family members included bin Laden’s two Saudi widows Khairiah Sabar and Siham Sabar and one Yemeni widow Amal Ahmed Abdul Fateh and their nine children who were in Pakistani custody since the US Navy SEALs raided Laden’s compound in Abbottabad and killed him in May 2011. The Laden family was deported to Saudi Arabia upon its own desire, according to Pakistani authorities. In a statement issued late on Thursday night, a spokesman of the Ministry of Interior said that the ministry ordered the deportation of 14 members of Osama bin Laden’s family in pursuance of the court’s orders. “The family was kept safe and sound in a guest house which had been declared a sub-jail. They have been deported to the country of their choice, Saudi Arabia, today,” it said. Earlier, Saudi authorities had refused to accept the widows and children of the al Qaeda chief directly from Pakistan. According to an official here, the Saudi government wanted Islamabad to re-route them through a third country.
To oversee the deportation of Laden’s family, the Saudi ambassador in Islamabad also reached the airport where security was increased manifold. Pakistan had first announced the deportation of bin Laden’s widows and children on April 18 following a court order two weeks ago which had handed the family a 45-day detention sentence (pre dated to March 3) for illegally entering and living in Pakistan, before being sent to the countries of their origin.