Former Pakistani army officer accused of telling CIA of Bin Laden's hideout

A British citizen and former Pakistan army officer has been accused of selling the secret hiding place of Osama Bin Laden to the Central Intelligence Agency, CIA.

Usman Khalid, who died last year aged 79, was said to be the informant whose tip-off led to the assassination in 2011 of the world’s most wanted man, according to Dailymai.

The White House has always maintained its own intelligence agents pieced together the information that led to the Navy Seals special forces raid.

Scroll down for video British citizen and former Pakistan army office

Hiding place: British citizen and former Pakistan army office Usman Khalid (left) was said to be the informant whose tip-off led to the assassination in 2011 of the world’s most wanted man, Osama Bin Laden.

Secret: The White House has always maintained its own intelligence agents pieced together the information that led to the special forces raid on the hideout (pictured) in Abbottabad, Pakistan

But veteran US investigative reporter Seymour Hersh claimed this week in the London Review of Books that Bin Laden had been held prisoner by the ISI, Pakistan’s intelligence agency, since 2006.

He claimed an unnamed senior army officer provided details of the secret hideout in Abbottabad in exchange for a cash reward. 

Mr Khalid has been named as the source of the intelligence in a report in The News, a Pakistan newspaper. 

But the retired brigadier’s family angrily denied he was the source - a year after his death from cancer aged 79. And they are dismayed his name has been made public in connection with the bin Laden raid.

His son, Abid, told MailOnline: ‘My father was very interested in the politics and security issues in Pakistan but he was on the periphery.

‘He did not have access to the inner sanctuary of the Pakistan security services, ISI. He made lots of speeches about India and Kashmir but he was not involved with Afghanistan.  

Location: A Pakistani shepherd walks past the hideout of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad following his death in a US Special Forces ground operation in May 2011

On the scene: Police, journalists and local residents gather outside the compound where Bin Laden lived

'He was not a supporter of Osama Bin Laden but he was not the man who brought him down.

‘He certainly did not get the $25million (£16million) reward. But if he had have given Bin Laden up he would have done it as a point of principle not for the money.

He was not a supporter of Osama Bin Laden but he was not the man who brought him down

Abid Khalid, son of Usman Khalid

‘He would have been a hero but that is not the reality. The timeline is all wrong. He was an old man suffering from cancer.

‘He spoke to his old friends in the military and sent emails but this was all in the public domain. He was out of the loop as far as top-level military intelligence was concerned.’

He said his father came to the London area in 1979 as a political refugee after the execution that year of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the former prime minister and father of Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in 2007.

He was court martialled in his absence and when democracy was restored he returned to Pakistan to clear his name but the authorities refused to overturn the verdict.

Taken down: A Pakistani policeman stands guard as security workers conduct demolition works on the compound where Bin Laden was killed in Abbottabad, in February 2012

       

Mr Khalid senior spent his final years living in a ‘granny flat’ annexe attached to his son’s modest home in the London area.

Veteran US investigative reporter: Seymour Hersh (above) claims that Bin Laden was being held prisoner by the ISI, Pakistan’s intelligence agency

The house is sparsely furnished with cheap sofas and an old dining room table. Bedcovers lie discarded on the furniture. 

A cheap electric kettle is used to boil water in the stand-up kitchen for tea. 

Mr Khalid junior works night shifts to make ends meet.

He said: ‘Like many Pakistani military types my father had conflicting views about America and the Taliban. But he certainly did not support Osama Bin Laden or Al Qaeda. 

'Look at the harm he did to the people – not in the west but in Pakistan and other parts of Asia. But my father was someone who put his politics in the public domain.

‘He was a sick man who was bedbound for the last two years of his life. He died in this house. I bought this house and he lived in the annexe.’

Mr Khalid junior told the London Evening Standard today that they are going to seek police protection fearing Al Qaeda reprisals.

He said: 'This story has put in jeopardy those I love. Britain is relatively safe but there are still crazy people out there who might target us after this.

'I am fearing for my life and my family’s lives after this story which is total rubbish. They (Al Qaeda sympathisers) could target me.'

The White House has described Mr Hersh’s claims that Pakistan co-operated with America to kill the former Al Qaeda leader as inaccurate and baseless. 

Mr Khalid’s family believe he has been wrongly implicated because of his outspoken views on Pakistani politics.

Mr Hersh has declined to respond to the claims about Brigadier Khalid but it is understood he denies the source of the tip-off about Bin Laden was the same person identified by Pakistani newspaper, The News. He maintains the informant was granted asylum in the US and not the UK.