Adil Najam
Late during the night between May 1 and May 2 in Pakistan there was news floating of a low-flying helicopter having blown up in the city of Abbottabad. There was much speculation, some wild rumors, but no confirmation of what had happened. Then, late night May 1 US East Coast Time (some six hours after the news about from Abbottabad had first started circulating in Pakistan), television screens in the US started flashing a notice that President Barack Obama would soon speak to the nation on a security issue. Rumors and speculation started flashing again.
(Unconfirmed – and, now, reportedly fake – photo of Osama Bin Laden’s dead body being shown on a private TV channel in Pakistan)
Soon it was confirmed that the news was that Osama Bin Laden had been killed: President Obama then confirmed that ke was killed in Pakistan, in Abbottabad, in an operation led by the US but conducted with support of Pakistani authorities (still not clear how much support, and whose). Reportedly, the US now has possession of Osama Bin Laden’s body.
This is a huge development in the War on Terror, even if Osama Bin Laden’s actual role had now become symbolic rather than operational. It is a development that also has huge implications for Pakistan, and for Pakistan-US relations.
More details are trickling by the minute. And partly for that reason it is not yet clear just what happened and which details are confirmed and which are speculation. What is now confirmed is: (a) Osama Bin Laden has been killed, (b) Osama Bin Laden was killed by US forces, (c) Osama Bin Laden was killed in Pakistan, (d) Osama Bin Laden was killed in an operation that was eventually supported by Pakistani authorities, and (e) CNN has no idea about anything that has to do with Pakistan (according to them Abbottabad is an outskirt just outside Islamabad!
As details come in and as a narrative and reactions develop both in Washington and in Islamabad, the one big – the one biggest – question that every Pakistani is thinking about is: What will this mean for Pakistan-US relations? What will this mean for Pakistan and Pakistanis? What will this mean for terrorism within Pakistan as a backlash of this incident?
What do you think?
10 saal ke baad ek osama ko mara kya ye batayenge ke in 10 salo me kitno ko maara jo osama nahi the aur kitni ko osama banne par majboor kar diya? after a long bullshit work USA have done this one. what a work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The fact remains that, both, USA and the CIA-trained, OBL, are terrorists and threats for world peace. The difference is that one had more power than the other
It’s just a new game by US. US is one cheap and poor country that is after every other country to rob something.
Now, they’ll keep on bombing in Pakistan saying that every terrorist is in Pakistan. There is no solid proof and our Pakistani president is a puppy of Obama and Obama came out like a puppy of BUSH!
Ridiculous !!
It took so many years to hunt him down despite the world’s two foremost agencies on the track??? What happens now, hopefully the task has been accomplised and Pakistan can be let off to fend for itself.
Some of your fools think that the Pakistani military and Kayani are stupid. Wake up
Despite the massive hunt, they kept him alive for 10 years.