'Utterly Ludicrous': Piers Morgan hits back at analyst over claim about Osama Bin Laden and Pakistan intelligence

Piers Morgan

British journalist Piers Morgan shut down a Pakistani analyst who claimed that dreaded terrorist and al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden, who was killed in Abbottabad, was trying to hide from his country’s intelligence agencies.

Participating in a discussion on Piers Morgan Uncensored show, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh said, "The bin Laden papers were not released by Pakistan. They were released by the American intelligence. 470,000 papers clearly state that Osama bin Laden was trying to hide from the Pakistani intelligence," Shaikh said.

Morgan, who stopped Shaikh mid-sentence, said he had made an "utterly ludicrous" statement. "Sorry, with the best will in the world, what you just said is utterly ludicrous. Osama bin Laden was found literally living in a house, a few hundred yards from Pakistan’s main military bases. If your intelligence did not know that he was there, it would be the world’s worst intelligence in the world. That’s why this is a ludicrous statement," Morgan said.

Bin Laden was killed by US Seals in a big, fenced house he had been living in the garrison town of Abbottabad on May 2, 2011. The proximity of the compound to a major military facility led western intelligence agencies to question Pakistan’s claim of not knowing here the man who plotted 9/11 was.

Several reports have said Bin Laden lived in the well-guarded compound with his family for at least five years.

The world’s most wanted man for nearly a decade, bin Laden was killed in a night raid, codenamed "Operation Neptune Spear", which was authorised by then US President Barack Obama.

After years of intelligence gathering, the CIA traced a trusted courier to a compound in Abbottabad. The compound was heavily secured and unusually large, raising suspicions that a high-value target was residing there.

In the early hours of May 2, two US Black Hawk helicopters carrying the Seal team entered Pakistani airspace without notifying the authorities. The Seals breached the compound and moved through the building. Bin Laden was found on the third floor and was shot at point blank range.

Within 24 hours, he was buried at sea.

The 40-minute raid, which also resulted in the deaths of one of bin Laden’s sons, two couriers and a woman, caused a major diplomatic incident, as it was carried out without Pakistan’s knowledge or consent.

In the aftermath of the raid, the US cut off $33 million in aid to Pakistan and the ties between the two countries remained strained for some time but soon it was back to business.