ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United States Abida Hussain has said that Osama Bin Laden had supported and funded former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
During an interview with a private news channel, Hussain said: “Yes, he [Osama Bin Laden] supported Mian Nawaz Sharif at one time. However, that is a complicated story. He [Osama] used to extend financial assistance [to Nawaz].”
Abida, also an ex-cabinet member of Nawaz’s government, recalled that at one time Osama Bin Laden was popular and liked by everyone, including the Americans, but at a later stage, he was treated as a stranger.
She said that she was appointed as an ambassador during the first premiership of Nawaz Sharif after she lost the election.
During her stint as an envoy to the US, the senior politician disclosed, most of her communication used to be with President Ghulam Ishaq Khan. Khan had tasked her to keep the Americans engaged in talks till Pakistan completes its nuclear program in 18 months.
The US administration, including the diplomats, senators, and congressmen, used to advise Pakistan against the execution of the nuclear programme, she revealed.
Responding to a question, Abida said that though she used to be spied on in the US, she did not undertake any suspicious activity which could be used against her by intelligence agencies.
When asked about the source of communication between her and President Khan in absence of modern tools, she revealed that she visited Pakistan five times to get briefings from the president during 18 months.
However, she said that she used to avoid using the phone knowing that it could be tapped. Since the nuclear programme was under the purview of the president, Abida said that most of her conversations used to be with him, and not the prime minister.
“This is also because President Ghulam Ishaq Khan did not trust anyone,” she maintained.
When asked about whether Nawaz felt bad for bypassing him and directly communicating with the president, she said: “He never expressed it.”
Abida said that though Pakistan had started its nuclear programme in 1983 during the Ziaul Haq regime, it was completed in 1992. The senior politician also revealed that she was made ambassador on the president’s recommendation.
