Repatriation of bin Laden family delayed

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, July 6 (UPI) -- The Pakistani commission investigating the U.S. raid that killed al-Qaida founder Osama bin Laden has barred his family members from leaving the country.

The decision by the four-member commission came after Pakistani leaders said bin Laden's widows would be repatriated to their birth countries of Yemen and Saudi Arabia, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

The commission, established by the government last month, is investigating how the military failed to notice U.S. forces on Pakistani soil and how bin Laden hid in a high security zone undetected by Pakistani intelligence agencies.

Three widows and six children are in the custody of the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate, Pakistan's intelligence agency. The family members were left behind in the compound in Abbottabad after the U.S. raid.

The order to keep bin Laden's family members in Pakistan was issued late Tuesday after the commission began its investigation into the incident. The commission directed the Interior Ministry and the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate to ensure bin Laden's relatives aren't repatriated without the commission's consent, the Journal reported.