ABBOTABAD:
Residents have demanded that the government build a girls college at the site where the once-infamous compound of slain al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden once stood. Two days back, authorities started tearing down the triple-storey house where Bin Laden was hunted down by US Navy SEALs in a top secret operation in May, last year.
It is yet not clear what the government would do to the plot of land which, according to revenue records, belongs to one Arshad Khan.
“Our daughters, the future mothers, will disseminate the message of peace and non-violence across the area, if the authorities allow construction of a girls college on the land where the bitter memories of Bin Laden are buried,” said Rehmanullah a resident of Bilal Town.
The people of Abbottabad have been humiliated in front of the government and intelligence agencies for hosting Bin Laden in the garrisoned town, he said, adding that this was not the end of their suffering – residents of Bilal Town had to undergo psychological trauma as a result of the post-US raid security measures.
Yasir Khan, another resident of Bilal Town, who witnessed the demolition of the Bin Laden compound from his rooftop, said that the ‘10-month-long siege’ and patrolling by law-enforcement agencies and security forces has spoilt peace and tranquillity of the area.
“We were almost always confined to our homes. Occasionally, everybody was interrogated by police and intelligence agencies,” he said, adding that guests coming from other cities were also at risk of being quizzed.
Meanwhile, the demolition squad, aided by cranes and shovels, razed the triple-storey building on Monday. The rubble is yet to be disposed of and the boundary walls and three entrance gates are still standing there. “We are waiting for the final go-ahead from authorities about whether to clear the area or keep the boundary walls and gates intact,” said a police source.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 28th, 2012.
COMMENTS (35)
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should build a cricket stadium .. OBL Cricket ground, Abbotabad.
owner of the house has now demolished it
@ijazmir: the owner is ISI
OBL girls college.
Some are demanding to build a College or Park? Was this property so big to accommodate a College or a Park.
Anything is fine so long as they do not build a LeT or DPC training center.
Build a memorial for the 911 victims from the world trade center.
@Pak: A very astute observation about the ownership of the compound. The guy who supposedly owned the place was fronting for the agency. That explains why the govt was able to raze down that place with ease.
We could have used this house, it shud not have been demolished
Yeah, turn it into a girls college and put young, helpless girls at risk of an Al Qaeda backlash
Obl Girls college, or what about OBL memorial park :p
@ Muhammad, You wrote: in my opinion, this area must be turned into waste management plant ….
This is sacrilegious as many consider OBL to be a warrior for Islam. Turning this hallowed ground into a najis processing centre is well...unthinkable for some.
I suppose it'd be a good way to make a statement and it it gets rejected they always have the card to play that "how can you deny what the people want built there, when you let OBL build a hideout there."
not ruin, very important place, girl college must be built on it.
Turn the empty place into a WalMart.
Osama Bin Laden's memorial.
Large number of people come and see this house, please think,it can be source of income for national treasures.
Well, my suggestion is to build a orphanage for children who lost their parents in bomb blasts in Pakistan.
Some sort of military training must be essential and this place can be used for the purpose.
Some concerned quarters are saying that it was a drama played by the single super power, I am disagree with this.he was really captured and killed..
Shouldn't comments, it is state secret, he has been living there, so place is noteworthy, construction of college building is a good proposal.
in my opinion, this area must be turned into waste management plant ....
Great idea. Should be made a girls school/university so that we can have educated Pakistani women who are also proud to be Muslims even in their purdah.
It should be a monument in the memory of Bin Laden. Govt must encash this opportunity to promote it as tourist point. After all it was the hide-out of great Osama Bin Laden...
Osama must be rolling in his grave.
Yes, OBL College for Girls. Attire should be a Purdah (white only). If they leave campus even to get a toothpaste, they should be accompanied by a Mahram. Otherwise, Hudud laws apply.
and it must be named "Osma Bin Laden Girls College, Abbotabad", funded by Saudi Arabia.
And soon they will see the ghost of OBL in their collage!!!
I totally agree. this would be a constant reminder to OBL and his fellow terrorists that their ideology of hatred is not going to prevail, that they failed and will fail in future if they persist. that they can torture/kill/maim/terrify us but they can't take our freedom of thought nor can they kill our spirits and our love for life. May we get rid of the likes of OBL and his sympathisers.
Wonderful decision!
Plant trees and make it into a park.
But can we expect such an environmentally friendly act from the army? No, not given there track record in housing schemes where uproot all the old and historic trees. There track record is horrible.
The land will probably be given to some general and he'll build a shopping plaza.
It should be turned either into a park or a play ground.