Pakistan captures key Qaeda leader in the thick of heightened tensions with Taliban

Shafaq News/ Pakistan's Counter-Terrorism Department announced, on Friday, the arrest of Amin al-Haq, a prominent leader of Al-Qaeda and former personal guard to the group's late leader, Osama bin Laden.

The department stated that al-Haq, an Afghan national and former physician, was apprehended as part of an ongoing counter-terrorism operation. The arrest comes amid rising tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with Islamabad accusing militant groups based in Afghanistan of attacking a military base earlier this week.

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry has summoned the Deputy Head of the Taliban mission, urging the Afghan government to take action against the armed groups operating from its territory. "We have requested Afghanistan to investigate how militants were able to cross the border and attack an army camp," the ministry stated.

The attack on the Pakistani military base in Bannu, located in the northwest of the country, resulted in the deaths of eight security personnel. The assault was reportedly carried out by Al-Qaeda militants.

Amin al-Haq had previously been detained in Lahore in 2008 but was released in 2011 due to insufficient evidence.

Following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban's return to power in 2021, al-Haq returned to his native Nangarhar province in Afghanistan, where he was seen arriving in a vehicle guarded by Taliban fighters.