By Saloni Mathur:
Osama dead, long live Obama! When this news of Osama being killed in Pakistan by the US troops flashed on the TV screens, everyone took a sigh of relief. Osama Bin laden was the prime accused for the 9/11 attacks. The flip flop statements made by United States of America regarding Osama’s killing has to and has created a controversy. While this controversy is being resolved, another controversy which was rather imminent has arisen regarding Pakistan’s role in Osama’s killing. There are circumstances and facts which have forced the whole world to doubt Pakistan’s character.
The fact that Osama had been hiding and living in the compound of Waziristan Haveli located deep inside Pakistan from the past five to six years where he virtually had no interaction with the rest of the world but was very active inside the compound – has raised a lot of questions. During these past years, we know that he had released various audios and videos. This could leave anyone with the doubt that how weak and dysfunctional one’s intelligence department can be that they could not make out that the most wanted criminal is living in its very own land and that too not from a very recent date but from years or is it that Pakistan was protecting and harboring Bin laden against the US?
“He was not anywhere where we have anticipated he would be but now he is gone,” President of Pakistan. Pakistan has been doing little to dispel questions over how Al-Qaeda leader was able to live in comfort in its territory. Earlier, Pakistan’s foreign secretary Salman Bashir told BBC that Islamabad had informed the US about the compound sheltering Bin Laden in 2009 through ISI. Then, what stopped Pakistan to take any action? Why were they waiting for Pakistan to take some action?
“The Pakistanis were reacting to an incident that they knew was taking place in Abbottabad. Therefore, they were scrambling some of their assets,” John Brennan, Chief counterterrorism advisor to the US. Pakistan should not have raised objection against US for violating international law by invading Pakistan and not informing and involving Pakistan in this operation where same person was responsible for loss of number of lives that took place in a blast in Pakistan.
Another possibility can be that Pakistan was helping Bin laden by protecting him and simultaneously helped US to kill him, thus playing the game of dualism.
Therefore, it becomes certainly inconceivable that Bin laden was not protected by Pakistan where he had been hiding for almost six years. If this becomes true, Pakistan could be a threat to the entire whole and humanity. There should be no hurry in determining and resolving this controversy. Pros and cons of every situation must be ascertained before coming to any conclusion because it is a vicious circle where the peace and security of entire world is at stake.