In an ideal situation, some heads should have rolled and perhaps, the head of our premier intelligence agency should not have been given an honourable retirement and a reappointment with the government.
One year later, what is it that we know about Bin Laden living with his family in the beautiful mountains of Abbottabad, just two hours away from Pakistan’s capital?
A commission set up to probe the incident is compiling its report and will once again release a useless document. Will this report openly talk about whose fault it was? Will we come out of the closet, once and for all? I am afraid not.
And to add insult to injury, some high-ranking military friends I spoke to recently still stick to a narrative full of conspiracies about how OBL was never in that house to begin with. This narrative has been reinforced by the tight-lipped attitude of our security establishment, resulting in the Pakistani press regurgitating the American version of the narrative for lack of an alternative truth.
Even locals from Abbottabad tried to convince me that this was all an American drama in which they had perfected the script so well that even the wives of Bin Laden were involved! The Central Intelligence Agency convinced the al Qaeda chief’s wives to deceive the Pakistani interrogators and make them believe that OBL was in Pakistan.
Why is our intelligence community so obsessed with the doings of our elected leaders? And why are those who provide justice also obsessed with the civilian leadership that was put in office by the people of Pakistan? Why is the Pakistani public being held hostage to legal battles between its own institutions? We should stop engaging in political rhetoric and instead turn to the threats that Pakistan faces.
Today, the nation is more at threat from terrorism than anything else.
We have lost a great deal of lives in the name of terrorism and millions have been made refugees in the process. We continue to be attacked by militants in broad daylight, we continue to fail in prosecuting terrorists and, a year later, we have been unable to hold anyone responsible for a complete intelligence failure to locate OBL.
Our leaders cannot continue to hide such open truths from the public who put them in positions of power in the first place. Does sending Bin Laden’s family home in the middle of the night bury the episode in darkness? Does demolishing the garrison house where Osama was seeking shelter close this chapter? Are we still going to deny that within our ranks are those who are more dangerous than any external force bent on destroying Pakistan?
The country needs to unite in fighting those who covertly support terrorism, who are destroying Pakistan’s image, economy and our lives. Instead of being held hostage to political debates that are dragged in the courts where the common man is denied justice, let us first build a safer Pakistan. The rest will follow.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 2nd, 2012.
COMMENTS (20)
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@Alchemy: " ... There is no bigger enemy of Pakistanis than our wretched Army. ... "
You are being unfair to your people in uniform. It is my opinion that the majority of them are level headed professional folks. There are quite a few, unfortunately, who have succumbed to Islamism and look at the relationship with India in terms of Momin/Kuffar.
This is the source of all trouble in Pakistan.
The Islamist elements in your military forget that all sub-continentals are cut from the same cloth and simply being Muslim does not translate to being a better fighter.
( Israel has beaten combined armies of Arab countries )
@mr. righty rightist: Except for mud slinging what is your point?
agreed! useless inquiries with results that won't be revealed or simply swept under the carpet!
lol @ the last paragraph ...about ppl who are destrying pakistan's image MEDIA is the one leading the destruction of this image... !
Leave security concerns to security forces. The most critical issues are energy and economy and current government is incapable to tackle the issues. Please, please, we need to focus on these issues instead of politics and mentioning 'Shaheed Bhuttos' in each and every talk show!
I also feel that the author is delusional.
You are talking about Abbottabad, that happened a year ago...!!!
What about 1971, that happened 40 years ago? Where's the report on that? Oh, please don't mention Hamudoor Rehman report.
I have read it and it is biased and tried to make excuses for everything that happened in Bangladesh.
It also vulgarly states that India is Pakistan's enemy and was waiting for an opportunity to break Pakistan. On the contrary, India showed great restraint in 1971.
And what about Kargil? What about Red Mosque? Pakistan has never been serious in learning from its mistakes. On the contrary, it is active in finding excuses for its mistakes.
@kaalchakra:
Honest Pakistanis?
Show me one please, out of 200 million.
"Even locals from Abbottabad tried to convince me that this was all an American drama in which they had perfected the script so well that even the wives of Bin Laden were involved!"
Pakistanis maybe right.
What US actually did was bring Osama's wives and kids and a TV and a few porn movies in a helicopter and planted them in the house. Fired a few gun shot, destroyed their own chopper and left.
Osama is still alive, in the mountains of Tora Bora.
I just want bring one more angle to the story, after one year even though the pakistan government or establishment has not yet fully disclose about the event and neither has the commision report clarified the failure .... however, isnt it ironic that one year later the news of osama bin laden death is now being cashed in to upcoming general elections in US, although such situation was being predicted when Bush was going for another elections ... nevertheless, it is always said that, to understand the bottom line of any political event .... look for who benefited the most ... in this case, the global media conglomerates for first, second the US government's aim to strenghten national moral and lastly to put check on Pakistan again and let the nation talk on equal terms .... this is a point to ponder as well ...
@kaalchakra:
There is no bigger enemy of Pakistanis than our wretched Army.
I think the US is in part to blame for the whole bin ladin fiasco. Afterall they have admitted to have released manufactured video tapes of OBL, manufactured pictures and voice tapes as well. It does throw the already complicated issue into a frenzy of conspiracy theories when US itself behaves so irresponsibly. Just take his "death" for example, when his compound was raided at first they said he put up a fire fight (even Obama came out and said that and he claims to have seen the whole thing live being broadcasted to him through a cam) then they said no he was unarmed and hid behind his wife, then the story changed again and claimed that the wife jumped infront of him. Then they took pictures which were leaked and then they turned out to be a bad work of Photoshop. And then they gave him "burial according to Islamic traditions" and threw him somewhere in the sea?! And have refused to share any of the photographic evidence of his death till date! NO WONDER PEOPLE HAVE BEEN GOING AROUND IN CIRCLES! I am willing to concede the possibility of him being in Pakistan at some stage but the American version of the story just doesn't add up and unfortunately the American version is all the mainstream media has fed us.
you're right! CIA brainwashed the wives and kids of OBL - that they stayed in the Abbottabad compound on the night of the raid all alone and after 1 year of interrogation all maintained the perfect CIA-planted story that OBL was present in the compound!!
@kaalchakra: Honest Pakistanis? Are you delusional or just ignorant?
Great analysis, thanks ET. What OBL? What compound? What family and harem? We never had any of those. If you don't believe me ask the rightwing apologists. What a shame that we never tell the truth. Kasab was not even a Pakistani but Indian national remember? Where is the Abbottabad Commission about Osam Bin Forgotten?
Excellent piece. Unfortunately 'come clean' is not a term that sits well with the Pak establishment - and so you have the illustrious skeleton of Osama bin Laden along with scores of others piled up in some Rawalpindi closet.
@kaalchakra: Can you prove Osama was not killed in Pakistan ?
Its a big game.
Let me ask the author - when even the local people are convinced that the so-called killing of Osama in Pakistan was all a drama by the US, how is HE so sure it was not? Just because people like to believe rich Americans and not honest Pakistanis? Shouldn't Pakistanis open their eyes and recognize they are being taken for a ride by the enemies of Pakistan?
superb article. You hit the nail in the head. Sadly most people still believe that OBL was long dead, Abottabad operation was farce, Democracy is the bane of all evils, Every ill in pakistan is because of yahoodis and kafirs etc. No way are we going to question how was such a major terrorist living near army head quarters.