Al Qaeda claims retired Pakistani General Shahid Aziz had died in 2018

A recent magazine published by Al Qaeda claimed that retired Pakistani General Shahid Aziz, who had mysteriously disappeared a few years ago, died in 2018. The magazine 'Nawa-e-Afghan Jihad,' (Voice of Afghan Jihad) which is published by a regional branch of Al Qaeda also claimed that the Pakistan General had close ties with the Al-Qaeda, a regional Arab newspaper reported. Shahid Aziz had served as Pakistan's top general and retired from the Pakistani army in 2005, after serving the country for 37 years. 

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During his tenure, he was known for launching a massive inquiry against corruption in Defence Housing Authority, Lahore when he held the post of Lahore Corps Commander.

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The February edition of the magazine AQIS also claimed that Aziz had close ties with members of the Al Qaeda and that the former general wrote a never-before-seen manuscript for a book that was sent to AQIS in 2015, and would be published in the Urdu magazine in the coming months. 

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Aziz criticizes Musharraf

Aziz had served as the director-general of military operations during former PM Pervez Musharraf's term as the military chief. In 2013, Aziz had authored a book which had criticized the policies of the former army chief. He had created massive controversy in Pakistan by acknowledging in an article that regular troops were involved in the Kargil operation. In his book, he had said that the "misadventure" was a "four-man show" and details were initially hidden from the rest of the military commanders. 

What is shocking however is that all this happened while Aziz's relatives had constantly rejected claims and rumours of his death and disappearance when they began to crop up back in 2018. The family had claimed that the former Pakistan General, was living a "very private life" of religious preaching. This is the first time Al-Qaeda has made claims of Aziz's allegiance to the terrorist organization.

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(With ANI Inputs)