The widows have been presented before the court and are now in judicial custody. The legal proceedings have numerous charges including illegal entry and alleged forgery.
The Interior Minister of Pakistan, Rehman Malik said that “The most important thing is that the women are kept in a proper manner, and keeping this in mind they have been kept in a proper house which has been declared a sub-jail … A five-bedroom house has been given to them, so the children feel they are in their own home and have been given every type of facility, food and shelter, as though it were their own home.”
Referring to the widows of bin-Laden, the Minister said “Their entry into Pakistan was illegal … They also did not inform the authorities that they were living here … And there were many other incidents where deception and forgery was committed.” Malik also added, “There is no case on the children. Only the adult family members who knew the law and who abetted Osama have had a case registered against them.”
The three wives of Osama were those left after two of his five wives had deserted him. Together the wives of Osama gave birth to at least 20 children including 11 sons. The youngest widow, Amal Ahmed Abdulfattah of Yemen was shot in the leg during the strike on Osama bin Laden’s Abottabad hideout. The other two widows are Saudi nationals, Khairiah Sabar and Siham Sabar, also known as “Umm Hamza” and “Umm Khalid,” respectively.
The proceedings against the widows have been initiated by Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency early this week.
Supporting the rule of law in Pakistan, the Minister of Interiors said that the widows “can have their own layers, and they will have the whole liberty to defend themselves in the court.”