Pakistan PM Imran Khan faces backlash for calling Osama Bin Laden 'martyr'

PML-N senior leader Khawaja Asif attacked Khan and was quoted as saying by Dawn News: "Imran Khan called Osama bin Laden shaheed. Bin Laden brought terrorism to our lands, he was a terrorist through and through and he [premier] calls him shaheed?"

 PPP Senator Sherry Rehman said that Pakistan was still a victim of terrorist attacks due to Osama Bin Laden, reports Dawn News.  

Husain Haqqani, Pakistan's former ambassador to the United States,tweeted: "PM Imran Khan’s statement in National Assembly, calling OBL a ‘martyr’ (Shaheed) should be a wake up call for those deluding themselves that a ‘changed’ Khan is a partner against terrorism in #Pakistan @State_SCA."

Meena Gabeena, a Pakistani activist, posted on Twitter: "Muslim world is trying to reclaim their image&values that terrorists like OBL and many more had destroyed ... Muslims all over the world are struggling because of the discrimination they face due to recent terrorism & our PM makes it worse by calling obl a martyr of Islam!"

Imran Khan calls Osama 'Martyr':

Imran Khan apparently shocked many as he referred to dreaded terrorist and former Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden as a 'martyr' on Thursday. He made the comment on the floor of the country's Parliament.

Attacking the US, Khan said American security forces entered Pakistan and killed Osama Bin Laden without informing Islamabad.

He said following the incident everyone in the world started abusing Pakistan which caused embarrassment to the country.  

Khan said: "We helped America in the ‘War on Terror’. For doing this, Pakistan faced grave humiliation."

 "America came and killed Osama Bin Laden in Abbottabad... martyred him," Khan said.  

"What happened after that? The entire world hurled abuses at us. Our own ally (US) entered our country and killed someone without even telling us about it. It was a big humiliation," he said.