Osama Bin Laden. PHOTO: FILE
Such embarrassment came again in Abbottabad in May 2011 as US Navy Seals raided a bungalow, pinpointed Osama bin Laden and his extended family and whisked him away, and then apparently, threw his body into the sea.
These events in a garrison town close to our capital were not known of to authorities in the country, who heard about them only after the raid had begun, while our own forces failed to detect the invasion even hours after US helicopters had flown into the compound and uniformed troops wielding guns had burst into the house occupied by Bin Laden.
Astonishingly, our own authorities and law-enforcing personnel did not even know that Osama bin Laden, the world’s most wanted man, had been located in this innocuous looking white house for years alongside his large retinue, including wives, children and assistants. Such intelligence lapses should simply not be tolerated — and the Abbottabad Commission has indeed pointed to a failure of agencies to coordinate and cooperate in this respect as a major reason for the farce.
Given the huge intelligence network that we maintain, at the expense of citizens, we must learn all that we can about how the presence of the al Qaeda chief was missed completely by us with not even a whisper heard from Abbottabad. The Commission, headed by Justice Javed Iqbal, has put this down to inefficiency by those at the top, as well as failures by subordinates working under them. These senior officials are, of course, eventually responsible for the acts of these teams on the ground and what they do.
The Abbottabad affair has been described by senior intelligence and military officials appearing on TV channels and writing in the press as the most embarrassing for the country since the events in Bangladesh in 1971. This can be argued in many ways and from many different directions. But certainly, all that happened should make us think a lot harder about what we are doing wrong and the meaning this has in the context of our continued battle against militancy.
Obviously, if we were unable to detect the presence of Osama in our very midst, questions arise as to how we will find other militant leaders. Indeed, these questions have already arisen. Many have asked why Mullah Omar is not yet in our custody. There are claims that he has been tracked down in Quetta and Karachi at various times. The same is true of other key leaders. We really have no way of knowing if this is the result of complete incompetence on the part of those responsible for our security or something else. In either case, the scenario is not at all a comforting one.
The detailed report by the Abbottabad Commission, unfortunately leaked out to the foreign media rather than made public officially, as should have happened in any democracy, suggests that bad management, a failure to follow rules and general slackness were largely to blame. This should not surprise us. We, after all, see precisely the same flaws in many walks of life, ranging from mundane civic matters to those involving the most sensitive affairs of state.
Clearly, we have a lot to learn and a lot to amend. But will we do so? It is hard to say, and past records suggest that we prefer to bury ugly details under the turf rather than attempt to tackle them and determine what should happen. Accepting our own faults — a key to correcting them — is simply not our strongest point. In this lies the reason for our many failures and the perception that Pakistan is a state capable of very little.
The fact that in the Commission report, US officials have been quoted as saying just where they believe Pakistan stands in their eyes, as a country that can be “bought with a visa”, should make us think a little harder about why we have fallen quite so low. The other remarks, apparently passed by Washington about us as well as the lies told by our own people, all recorded by the Commission from the testimonies given to it, are not very reassuring either.
Beyond the failure at the top levels, there are also more mundane matters to consider. These involve the issue of why proper records of houses, properties, their ownership and so on were not maintained and scrutinised. This matter, too, has been raised. Had the paperwork been properly kept, we may have known sooner who lived where and whether they should be allowed to do so.
The most important thing, now that the facts are before us in black and white on printed sheets of paper, is where we go from here. A deep think is, of course, needed about the working of the agencies and how they operate. Perhaps, this can be taken up at the major meeting on security issues to be held by major parties. But we must also consider why there is so little accountability and transparency in our state.
After the report was handed over to the then prime minister last year, the facts should have been put out before us to be considered and discussed. This did not happen; instead, we faced revelations through leaked information, again opening us up to further ridicule from around the world. Most importantly, openness can in itself be crucial to solving problems and tackling those that crop up in various affairs.
There have been far too many cover-ups in the past. It seems we have not learnt from these and continue to act in the same way even now. This can cost us very highly indeed in the future.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 14th, 2013.
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COMMENTS (15)
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@unbelivable, Dear unbelievable, Where you present when OBL's family, the Taliban, and all the other parties you mentioned agreed that OBL had been taken out? I noticed that you ignored the one big lack of evidence. Where is OBL's body? Oh, I forgot. You must be one of the people with common sense, and you believe the lie that he was dropped into the sea, and that Navy Seal Team 6 left their cameras behind. I also suppose you are one of the people with common sense who believe that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, that 19 Saudis flew several aircraft around American skies for several hours, on 9/11, and the largest air force in the world could not scramble a few planes. Additionally, I further suppose that with all your common sense, you believe it possible for building 7 in New York to crash to the ground because it had a fire in it. I suppose you believe that a plane crashed into the Pentagon and it was not possible to release any CCTV footage of the plane even though the Pentagon and private buildings across the road were bristling with cameras. These are just a few things that puzzle me, and I would appreciate it, if with your common sense you could explain in exquisite detail, what really happened so that poor functioning conspiracy theorists such as I can have all these conspiracy theories laid to rest once and for all. However, in regard to Abbottabad I would really be in your debt if you could explain why the camera footage of the incident has not been released, and whilst you are explaining conspiracy theories perhaps you could also explain why most of Seal Team 6 did not follow standard operating procedure, over crowded a helicopter and finished up dead. Perhaps your common sense can also explain why American drones are routinely killing women and children, and why America is pulling out of Afghanistan after 13 years because they are losing the war.
@S.ASIF RASHID: Well said! Just need to add one shameless & disgraceful act of incredible indian democracy "OPERATION BLUESTAR against innocent sikhs on July, 1984".
@Sexton Blake
That's because the "majority" use common sense - something apparently missing in conspiracy theorist. The American's left behind OBL wife's and children who witnessed his death - their presence at the compound along with their testimony would satisfy most. Maybe you can explain why the Pakistan govt, Al Qaeda and the Taliban seem to agree that OBL was killed in Abbottabad? Maybe they are part of the conspiracy? Maybe the American's offered them visa's?
The commission instead of asking who hid OBL for almost 10 years in a high mansion with barb wires next to the military academy instead focused on putting blame on lower level personnel and some heart-thumping for the SEAL raid....... pathetic.....
@unbelievable: The majority cannot seem to accept that the whole Abbottabad incident is based upon an untruth. A huge American lie. If the Americans can tell a lie about weapons of mass destruction and use the lie to raze Iraq to the ground, as well as killing huge numbers of people, they would not think twice about attacking one house in Abbottabad, and use it as propaganda. Further, the American lies would be almost believable, but the really huge elephant in the room is, WHERE IS THE BODY.? Also, one should always keep in mind the quote by Dr. Goebbels, "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it". Starting from 9/11the world has been subjected to massive US propaganda. Propaganda is really a euphemism for making ugly, untruthful statements sound pleasant and believable. Moving on, many of the people writing in are doing the usual putdowns on Pakistan, some of which are probably true. However, in spite of the fact that they are well written, what they are really doing is obfuscating the real issue, and that is, we have not been given, as usual, a shred of evidence that would stand up in a court of law. The Americans would have known that OBL's body would be proof, but they have not yet provided it.
let's forget about OBL. May be it was an oversight.
But, would it also be oversight that the three terorrists set free post Khandahar Hijack of Indian planes, surfaced in Pakistan?
Would it be incompetence of ISI and other agencies if Mulla Omar, Zawahiri, Dawood Ibrahim, Tiger Memon, Chota Shakeel, Masood Azar (all UN designated terrorists) are found in Pakistan?
What has Pakistan done to apprehend any of these folks.
Yeah right. I hear many Pakistani's thinking (or about to type in) - None of these folks are in Pakistan (like OBL was never in Pakistan)!!!
@V. C. Bhutani: July 14th 2013 Dear Mr. Bhutani your article is a Mixture and trash directed at our country and our army and ISI. Probably you are an Agent of the Americans who are the biggest terrorists and murderers, the World has seen.Have you forgotten how they have killed millions in Vietnam, Korea , Iraq, Iran Afghanistan.Israel is their BADMASH in the Middle East. How can you write such Trash when your own ARMY and the Indian govt. has let loose a reign of Terror in KASHMIR.How brute Military force is being used to Kill Kashmir Resistence operatives.How Shamefully the UN just sits on the UN Resolutions for their Freedom. You do not have any sense how you do not condemn the SAUDI Government who has given Drone Bases to the Americans so that they can Kill in Yemen in Somalia and Sudan. The Indians and the Americans are in the same Boat.Out to harm Pakistan, since this is the only Islamic country who can stand up to the Conspirators.The whole Middle Eastern States are Sold out. The Mujaideen were Heroes when they were fighting the Soviets. Today they are Terrorists.This wording by America "Either you are with Us or Against US" was a Bluff to get into any country to play their Dirty games and India is a Part to it. So my Advice to you is first study the past history and events.Then write.
@V. C. Bhutani: Well said!
As an Indian analyst of these questions, I find this editorial wholly and widely removed from reality. There seems to be no connection between the questions that the editorial deals with and the views that it expresses on them and the recommendations that it makes. There is no readiness to face facts and ground actualities. It has been my view, to some extent supported by Pakistani writers, that Pakistan has been user and supporter of terror from about 1990 onwards, not long after the Soviets left Afghanistan by the end of 1989. The experience in Afghanistan – from Ziaul Haq onwards – proved heady and caused such intoxication that Pakistan never came out of it. Pakistan’s deduction from that experience was that jihad was an effective means of defeating a superpower like the Soviet Union. Perhaps Pakistan even thought that it had been largely instrumental in the defeat of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan and the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union. Hence, Pakistan seemed to believe that if jihad could be so effective against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan it could not fail against India in Kashmir. Repeated acts of terror in India emanated from Pakistan because they were organized by the leaders of terrorist outfits based in Pakistan, then as now. Whether it was Mumbai 1993, Parliament 2001, Mumbai 2008 – the list is not exhaustive, I am speaking from memory – the rest of the world saw Pakistan’s hand in those events. Pakistan used terrorist outfits as its assets and managed and guided them through its official agencies, whether Army, ISI, or any other – but that gave Pakistan sufficient ground for denial of direct responsibility. It has been said that Pakistan “lived in denial” and went out of its way to parade itself as a victim of terror – 40,000 Pakistani lives lost to terror. It was convenient for Pakistan to forget that those lives were lost to terrorist activities of those who had been nurtured and built by Pakistan itself. When Osama bin Laden faced extinction at US hands in Tora Bora in December 2001, his escape and flight to Pakistan could not have been possible without the active cooperation and support of Pakistan’s official agencies, whatever their names. I refuse to believe that Pakistan Government, Pakistan Army, and ISI did not know that Osama bin Laden was in Pakistan throughout the period 2001-2011. I have great respect for the efficiency and effectiveness of agencies like the Pakistan Army and ISI: they could not have missed Osama bin Laden’s presence in Pakistan. Osama bin Laden could not have lived for 10 years in Pakistan, at whatever locations, without Pakistan Government, Pakistan Army, and ISI knowing about it and actively helping and supporting him throughout in every possible manner. Osama bin Laden’s killing at the hands of US Marines at Abbottabad on 2 May 2011 was an event of much embarrassment to Pakistan. It was convenient and useful to be able to offer denial of information about his presence in Pakistan. In my view, the Abbottabad Commission and its inquiry and report were an elaborate exercise to obfuscate matters and to put forth a cogent story of incompetence on the part of Pakistan authorities at all levels. The whole effort was a charade, which anyone with an iota of intelligence would be able to see through. The lesson that Pakistan should have learnt was that it had been playing with fire with its use of terror in India and Afghanistan after 1990 and that terrorists eventually proved too much even for their handlers. It had been said very early on that Pakistan was riding a tiger and that the test would come when Pakistan attempted to dismount the tiger: the tiger would then turn upon its former rider. Terrorists are now resorting to their activities inside Pakistan and making their killings of fellow Pakistanis. Of course, terrorist leaders never omit to warn and threaten Indians, Americans, and Israelis – to give it an appearance of continued jihad against infidels. V. C. Bhutani, Edinburgh, 14 July 2013, 1335 GMT
"There have been far too many cover-ups in the past." ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Kargil Kargil Kargil.
Parliament must take an unequivocal stand against terrorism and ask the law enforcement agencies to go after all the terror group, good and bad without fear or favour. Everyone also knows that Afghan Taliban are also lodged by the Agencies in safe houses. Who has taken these decisions must be clearly explained to the public as they are suffering the blow back from these policies. Agencies must be ordered to find Zawahri in 3 months else they will be held responsible if another raid comes to get him. Pakistan simply cannot afford policies of ambivalence or confusion because its own citizens are dying at the altar of such misguided delusions of grandeur.
"Astonishingly, our own authorities and law-enforcing personnel did not even know that Osama bin Laden, the world’s most wanted man, had been located in this innocuous looking white house for years alongside his large retinue, including wives, children and assistants. "
Tribune, do you really believe that they (authorities) were so ignorant and honest...u must be kidding!!! Right???? However you have raised very valid points.lets see in future which lessons were internalized and which ignored!!!! Lets wait with fingers crossed........
"Astonishingly, our own authorities and law-enforcing personnel did not even know that Osama bin Laden, the world’s most wanted man, had been located in this innocuous looking white house for years alongside his large retinue, including wives, children and assistants. Such intelligence lapses should simply not be tolerated — and the Abbottabad Commission has indeed pointed to a failure of agencies to coordinate and cooperate in this respect as a major reason for the farce."
This article, like all other reports from the Pakistani media, is aimed to hide the real truth from the public. Instead of providing a truthful analysis, the Pak media is just towing the official establishment line that it was all a matter of intelligence failure. No Pakistani report has pointed out that the Abbottabad Commission report (paragraph 683) also says that the possibility of collusion by the Pakistani military and ISI in hiding Bin Laden can't be ruled out.
The media, just like in the nuclear proliferation case, where the incredible Establishment line, that all the nuke proliferation was done by one man, A Q Khan, was propagated, is now again parroting the Establishment misinformation that there was no collusion, but it was all a matter of intelligence lapses.
The elephant in the room that the Editor and no one else in Pakistan wants to talk about is that it's obvious that OBL lived comfortably inside Pakistan with assistance from the military/govt of Pakistan. And those that helped him were not limited to powerless low ranked individuals. If you doubt that then explain why no effort has been made to ascertain who helped OBL - terrorist with family and entourage doesn't live for a decade inside Pakistan without help and leaving a considerable trail.