Al-Qaeda claims Pak forces held wife of its chief Zawahiri

ISLAMABAD: Al-Qaeda has accused Pakistani security forces of detaining the wife of its chief, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and two other families of the insurgent group’s “martyrs” for nearly a year.

In a statement, the leadership of al-Qaeda on Friday alleged “treacherous Pakistani forces” captured Zawahiri’s wife and others as they left the former Taliban stronghold of Waziristan bordering Afghanistan about a year ago due to continuous airstrikes.

It said, “We ... hold Pakistan’s government and its treacherous army and their American masters responsible for their criminal acts.” There was no immediate comment from Pakistan.

Zawahiri, an Egyptian, became leader of al-Qaeda following the 2011 killing of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan by US Navy SEALS. He is believed to be hiding somewhere in the region.

SHARIF CASE: SC ORDERS ACTION AGAINST JUDGE

Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Friday ordered disciplinary action against a judge who convicted former premier Nawaz Sharif, effectively giving a boost to Sharif’s appeal against a seven-year jail term for corruption.

Sharif was convicted and jailed last year after failing to prove the source of income that had led to his ownership of a steel mill in Saudi Arabia. Sharif denied the charges that he said were politically motivated. His party in July presented a video apparently showing the judge who presided over Sharif’s conviction, Arshad Malik, as saying he had been pressured into handing down a guilty verdict by individuals he did not identify who had compromising footage of him. Malik later denied he had been blackmailed.

Malik had already been removed from his position in an anti-corruption court.

The supreme court on Friday ordered him to report back to the high court in the city of Lahore and “appropriate departmental disciplinary proceedings” be initiated against him.