Rumour mills churn in Washington

Bin Laden's death in Pakistan has left a sense of incredulity amongst many in Washington about the Pakistani military.

WASHINGTON:

On Sunday night, I, along with millions of Pakistanis all over the world, watched in horror as the CNN announced that al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden, who had been on the run for 10 long years, had been killed in a “mansion outside Islamabad”.

While those details changed later, the fact remains that Bin Laden’s death in Pakistan hasn’t just raised eyebrows, but has left a sense of incredulity amongst many in Washington who are saying, “Are they (the Pakistani military and their intelligence outfits) really that incompetent or were they shielding Bin Laden?”

Over the last few days, former ambassadors, diplomats and experts have stressed the importance of Pakistan’s relationship with the US. But at the same time, the level of trust between both countries, which was already at an all-time low after General Kayani’s statement on the drone programme and Admiral Mike Mullen’s statement on the Haqqani network, has plummeted rapidly. That Bin Laden was found at a stone’s throw from Kakul has not helped Pakistan’s image either.

At Brookings Institution, a think-tank in Washington, a conference took place to discuss the future of al Qaeda barely two days after Osama Bin Laden’s death. It could easily be described as a chorus of voices demanding to know how truthful Pakistan really was and expressing anger at their perceived complicity in sheltering Bin Laden.

For journalists trying to make sense of whether the Pakistan Army cooperated or not, no clear answers are forthcoming. Shuja Nawaz, author of Crossed Swords and director of the South Asia Centre at the Atlantic Council, said, “We are waiting for a statement from the Pakistan Army – if no statement comes in, that means there must have been some co-operation.”

The conspiracy theories making the rounds in Pakistan have also been discussed in DC, while a debate rages about whether the White House should release images of Bin Laden’s dead body and his funeral, described as “gruesome” by those in the know, and if it will have any effect in shutting up conspiracy theorists. As various aspects of the events leading up to Bin Laden’s death and his prolonged stay in Pakistan emerge, one diplomat put it this way, “There are some questions that will never be answered.”

On visiting the Pakistan Embassy, Ambassador Husain Haqqani, while shuttling between rounds of interviews, said, “There is no cure for conspiracy theories. If someone doesn’t want to face the truth, we can’t stir it in a cup and make them drink it … our sovereignty hasn’t been affected because another country’s helicopters entered our borders. It has been affected because a non-Pakistani was running a terrorist organisation there.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 5^th, 2011.