Bin Laden's Family To Be Deported To Saudi Arabia From Pakistan At Midnight

This April 1998 file photo shows exiled al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan. (AP Photo, File)

ISLAMABAD — Osama bin Laden's three widows and their nine children were scheduled to be deported to Saudi Arabia overnight, almost a year after U.S. Navy SEALs killed the al-Qaida chief at a compound in northwest Pakistan, their lawyer said Tuesday.

The family was detained by Pakistani authorities immediately after the pre-dawn raid on May 2 in Abbottabad. The American commandos left them behind but took bin Laden's body, which they later buried at sea.

The relatives were interrogated by Pakistani officials and eventually charged last month with illegally entering and living in the country. They were convicted on April 2 and sentenced to 45 days in prison, with credit for about a month served. Their prison term, which was spent at a well-guarded house in Islamabad, ends Tuesday.

Pakistani officials have said very little publicly about the family, raising questions about why they were kept in detention for so long.

Some speculated Pakistan was worried information from the widows would point to some level of official assistance in hiding bin Laden. The compound in Abbottabad where he lived for six years was about a kilometer (half a mile) from one of Pakistan's main military academies.

The Pakistani government has denied knowing the terrorist leader's whereabouts, and the U.S. has said it has no evidence senior Pakistani officials knew he was in Abbottabad.

But details leaked to the media from the interrogation of one of bin Laden's widows raised further questions about how he was able to live in the country unnoticed for so long.

Amal Ahmed Abdel-Fatah al-Sada said the al-Qaida chief lived in five houses while on the run in Pakistan for nine years and fathered four children, two of whom were born in Pakistani government hospitals.

It's also possible that one of the reasons Pakistan kept bin Laden's family in detention for so long was the difficulty of figuring out where to send them. Two of the widows are from Saudi Arabia, and the third, al-Sada, is from Yemen.

Saudi Arabia stripped bin Laden of his citizenship in 1994 because of his verbal attacks against the Saudi royal family, and there have been questions about whether the country would accept the women. Saudi officials have declined to comment.

The lawyer for bin Laden's family, Mohammed Amir Khalil, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that they were scheduled to fly to Saudi Arabia overnight. He originally said they were expected to leave around midnight.

A Pakistani official indicated there was a delay related to paperwork. It was unclear how long the delay would last, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters.

It was unclear why al-Sada was not being sent to Yemen. Khalil said earlier that the Yemeni government had consented to her return, and her brother, Zakaria al-Sada, had said the government had issued her five children passports.

The family's departure could help Pakistan close out a painful chapter in the country's history. Pakistani officials were outraged that the U.S. did not tell them about the operation against bin Laden until after it happened – a decision American officials explained by saying they were worried the information would be leaked.

In addition to facing difficult questions about how bin Laden was able to hide in the country for so long, Pakistan's army faced unusual domestic criticism because it was unable to stop the American raid from taking place.

Also on HuffPost:

Comments

[AIIegroTroppo]

11:05 AM on 04/18/2012

Where are all the deluded Truthers who claimed Osama died in 2001?

[Vere15]

12:17 AM on 04/29/2012

And all the deluded truthers who believed that Bush and Cheney were actually trying to get Osama

[wwoody]

09:45 AM on 04/18/2012

Soon coming to South Beach.

[AIIegroTroppo]

11:03 AM on 04/18/2012

amazing comment from Osama 9.11 Truther.

[margiebe]

09:08 AM on 04/18/2012

"The Eleventh Day"-Anthony Summers and Robyn Swan

[margiebe]

09:07 AM on 04/18/2012

"Ghost Wars" written by Steven Coll,gives a very clear picture of the Pakistanis. The ISI(their CIA) absolutely plays both sides. And people have to remember that the Pakistanis constantly worry about India. Their strategies and priorities are not for the good of the U.S. They must balance the appearance of being a friend to the U.S. for foreign aid-and we in turn play their game because they have nukes)I have no doubt that they knew Bin Laden was in their country.The real tragedy is that we attacked Iraq when Bin Laden was not there. And of course,the 9/11 terrorists were mostly Saudis(The Eleventh Day)

[AIIegroTroppo]

11:03 AM on 04/18/2012

Hilarious

[margiebe]

12:56 PM on 04/18/2012

? Do you think war is hilarious? Or the Pakistanis play both sides? or there are some great books out there to fill in some info you might not have?Please explain.

[carbar4647]

06:54 AM on 04/18/2012

I am sure obama is setting up tents in the rose garden.

[MrComments]

07:53 AM on 04/18/2012

For what?

[margiebe]

08:56 AM on 04/18/2012

What does your comment mean?

[be practical]

04:35 AM on 04/18/2012

Wow -some of these posts are funny. How, exactly, is it Obama's fault if Pakistan's judicial system determined that a 45 day sentence is just, especially after being held in detention since bL death.

Reality check: Obama doesn't even have the power to change a decision by one of our own federal judges.

So help me out here - on one hand you tell me he is an idiot, on the other hand you tell me he is an all powerful god. Which is it?

[dui]

09:07 AM on 04/18/2012

I'll vote for idiot

[Schoolgirl666]

09:54 AM on 04/18/2012

You probably did....he's been out of office for 3 plus years.

[Yasser Yousufi]

12:16 AM on 04/18/2012

good work Pakistan! These women and children had done nothing wrong. Their rehabilitation should start in their own countries~!

[sloop uk]

04:26 AM on 04/18/2012

''good work Pakistan''

Indeed. Giving comfort and succour to a terrorist and his brood for nine years.
Way to go.

[Yasser Yousufi]

07:40 AM on 04/18/2012

Feel free to share if you have any proof Pakistan Govt was providing comfort and "succour" to OBL and his family for 9 years.

[pacific sea]

11:15 PM on 04/17/2012

wow three widows. I guess there is only 69 virgins waiting for him in paradise

[Susan Shaffer]

07:14 PM on 04/18/2012

nah, everyone gets it wrong there are 53 virgins as decided by a committee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdNqUW5wwTE

[vascopyjama]

10:01 PM on 04/17/2012

From one cesspit to another.

[whoissurprised]

07:30 PM on 04/17/2012

WOW, 45 DAYS FOR AIDING OBL...........

ARE YOU F------ KIDDING THE US CITIZENS...........PAKISTAN?

OBAMA AND HILLARY REALLY SHOWED THEIR STRENGTH WITH PAKISTAN.......45 DAYS. OBAMA AND HILLARY MUST BE MOVING TO COLUMBIA SOON.

[userjoe1020]

01:59 AM on 04/18/2012

Awesome remark! ...if only it were coherent.

[AnneBoleyn1501]

10:12 AM on 04/18/2012

Please..... step away from the CAPS LOCK button.....

The military knew exactly where Bin Laden was, that's why they detained them for as long as they did. They couldn't let them leave until everyone had their stories straight so no more "oops" moments, like the hospital comment.

[whoissurprised]

05:53 PM on 04/18/2012

ANNE:

Pakistan has received BILLIONS of US TAXPAYERS money while hiding OBL; therefore, take off your rose colored glasses.

[Susan Shaffer]

07:20 PM on 04/18/2012

the hospital comment didn't need to make the news if the military really was in charge of hiding him.
you need to read up on the national id card system in pk
http://www.nadra.gov.pk/
if bin laden's wife had someone else's card then that other person will be in deep doo doo for giving it to her.
if a fake card was generated then the person who signed off on it will be hauled over the coals. No, probably drawn and quartered.
I applied for a national id card. As a woman I had to state either who is my father/husband. The paper application form is signed off by someone who puts in their national id number. This system has whole families interconnected and there is an inducement for foreign born pakistanis to also register so they get visa free entry.
You should be more worried about why when I travelled with my 5 year old son in usa that his name is on a watch list. If pakistan can have such a sophisticated system then what is going on in usa. And don't get me started on TSA!

[mimibrd]

07:29 PM on 04/17/2012

Yes ,Everyone should thank our President Barack Obama for the true mission accomplished .Buzzard Brain Bush and his $ war buddies wanted to take the credit for it and the republican party still would like to also, they have poo poo it because it was OBAMA who was behind it. FOUR MORE YEARS.***** OBAMA 2012 *******

[rationaltactics]

09:25 PM on 04/17/2012

Good point.. I am also glad that Obama broke his promise about bringing the troops back home and decided to continue Bush's war. Otherwise, if he did what he said he was originally going to do, we wouldn't have had the glory of killing more terrorists. People couldn't wait to get the troops back home in 2008, but since the media stopped highlighting the American death tolls every single day, people are ok with Obama reneging.

[be practical]

04:29 AM on 04/18/2012

Can you source me that? I don't recall the polls saying that the majority of Americans thought that we should be out of there by the end of 2008.

[MrComments]

07:53 AM on 04/18/2012

Obama campaigned on ESCALATING the war in Afghanistan, destroying Al Qaeda, and getting bin Laden. You are spewing nonsense.

Plus he DID say he would bring the combat troops home from Iraq. He did do that, and that has NOTHING to do with Afghanistan.

Another clown just spewing nonsense without a clue about reality.

[aearthling59]

07:13 PM on 04/17/2012

Pakistan probably fined them a huge amount to let them go. Only nine children? don't think so. Three wives what happened to the other two>?

[colonepercent]

10:18 PM on 04/17/2012

Living here with Obamas aunt, on welfare.

[Vere15]

12:21 AM on 04/29/2012

Sorry the welfare kings of the USA are the Kochs, the Bushes, the Cheneys and the Rumsfelds - they have taken more of your money than all of the other benefit recpients combined

[yeti7]

07:02 PM on 04/17/2012

dang they ain't left yet. Looks like HC got over her hangover too.

[tarbox55]

06:44 PM on 04/17/2012

Gee, what a novel idea. Deport illegal immigrants. Hint, Hint.

[MrComments]

07:54 AM on 04/18/2012

Deportations are way up under Obama. Guess you missed that.

[margiebe]

08:58 AM on 04/18/2012

It's wonderful to see someone actually has knowledge of facts.(f&f)

[tarbox55]

03:05 PM on 04/18/2012

Yes, only of dangerous criminals with records ONLY. I cannot say criminals as each and every illegal immigrant is a criminal and guilty of numerous crimes working here illegally, not paying taxes or identify theft, entering the country illegally etc.

[TheyCallMeLtKelso]

06:21 PM on 04/17/2012

Maybe they can rent or buy the fake ranch with the fake lake for fake fishing that is for sale in Waco TX.

They have family connections, they can get a good price!

[shellsangels]

09:51 PM on 04/17/2012

yep, that is true. Fanned

[TheyCallMeLtKelso]

10:42 PM on 04/17/2012

Thanks! Got ya back!

[colonepercent]

10:19 PM on 04/17/2012

Yea I here Obamas letting it go for a song. Thanks

[TheyCallMeLtKelso]

10:39 PM on 04/17/2012

That is one of more obtuse responses of the day.