Posted on 11/02/2002 5:33:24 PM PST by Pokey78
American investigators are questioning a prominent Pakistani surgeon whom they believe gave Osama bin Laden medical treatment after he escaped from his hiding place in the Tora Bora mountains of Afghanistan.
They suspect that Dr Amir Aziz, 46, a British-trained orthopaedic surgeon, can help solve the mystery of whether the world's most wanted man is dead or alive.
Dr Aziz was arrested in Lahore two weeks ago by Pakistani military intelligence and FBI agents after al Qa'eda prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, revealed his name.
A regular visitor to Afghanistan, Dr Aziz was close to the Taliban leadership and helped them to set up a medical college in Kandahar. According to colleagues, he first operated on bin Laden two years ago.
He was in the country during the American bombing and treated senior Taliban injured in fighting in the north before escaping.
FBI officials believe that he treated bin Laden again last December after the terrorist leader's escape from the American bombardment of Tora Bora into the tribal areas of Pakistan. Dr Aziz may hold vital clues about bin Laden's state of health and how far he might have been able to travel.
"We are pretty sure he had been wounded in the chest from the way his arm was hanging in his last video message," said one investigator.
"We know he had a kidney complaint. We don't know whether he was fit enough to be on the run, or just lay wounded in a cave somewhere and maybe died there. How long could he survive without a dialysis machine? We believe his doctor can tell us."
The detention of Dr Aziz has caused outraged in Pakistan, particularly among his medical colleagues, some of whom wrote to the president of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, yesterday demanding that he intervene.
"As a doctor he is pledged to extend his medical help to whomsoever, irrespective of creed or colour," said Dr Tanvir al Hasan Zubeiri, chairman of the committee working for Dr Aziz's release.
Dr Aziz, the son of an army colonel, studied in Glasgow and Edinburgh and did a masters degree in surgery at London University before returning to Lahore in the 1980s.
He quickly became known as the city's top orthopaedic surgeon, treating the Pakistani cricket team and supporting the hospital built by Imran Khan, the former cricketer turned politician.
Last night the family of Dr Aziz insisted that he was being held under false pretences and urged the American authorities to tell them where he was being held and let them speak to him.
It's a coincidence, I'm sure. < /sarcasm >
No Muslim hatred of the West involved - please move on.
The Hippocratic Oath.....I will abstain from every voluntary act of mischief and corruption....I will give no deadly medicine to anyone if asked......
Leni
Makes me think sumpin's up....
Hmmm..a british trained Pakistani takes his education back to Pakistan and helps keep terrorists alive. How many microbiologists, nuclear scientists, etc. are doing the same?
Noted Surgeon Picked Up For Al-Qaeda Link
By: Ziaullah Niazi
LAHORE: The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents along with officials of Pakistani sensitive agencies Monday noon arrested a noted orthopaedic surgeon, Dr. Amir Aziz, for allegedly providing bio-chemical weapons formula to Taliban and al-Qaeda. Dr Amir, a former chief executive of Jinnah Hospital, was picked up from Ghurki Hospital, Ghazi Road, where he was performing his duty. Sources told The News the FBI had reports that Dr Amir had treated al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters injured during the US bombing of Afghanistan.
It has also been learnt that Osama bin Laden also remained under his treatment. Interestingly, Dr Amir is an orthopaedic surgeon and has nothing to do with bio-chemical weapons. Dr. Amir Aziz was being interrogated by the FBI and Pakistani officials for the last three days. He was appearing before these agencies on daily basis for interrogation. He had been told to prepare his passport. Monday noon, two FBI agents accompanied by the Pakistani official picked him up from Ghurki Hospital where he was performing his duty. "He has been taken to an unknown place from where he will be shifted to the US," the sources disclosed.
Aziz, who is in his early 40s and is son of a retired army officer, was known to have close contacts with the former Taliban regime. He had been a regular visitor to Afghanistan when the Taliban were in power. Dr Amir had been supporter of Afghan Mujahideen during the Afghans' war against the former Soviet Union. He had been supporting the mujahideen by giving them free medical treatment as well as money. He had been collecting donations for the mujahideen, particularly for the activists of Jaish-e-Muhammad and Harkatul Mujahideen, fighting against the former Soviet Union.
Known as a religious man, he had been operating several free clinics in Lahore. Dr. Amir was very close to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's family. He was the first ever chief executive of a government hospital in the Punjab. He was also a provincial health adviser to the federal government until military ruler President Pervez Musharraf took over in a coup in October 1999. When contacted, District Police Officer Lahore, DIG Javed Noor, said Dr. Amir was not wanted by the Lahore Police and they had not arrest him. He had no information about his arrest, he added. Dr. Amir Aziz's family was not available for comment as his residence phone was not attended.
I wonder if the arrest of the wife and son are due to information gained from his interrogation.
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