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?
Are Pakistanis the dumbest, most ignorant people on the planet? After reading some of the extremely disturbing comments on this page, I say absolutely. Listen, this is all very simple. We knew OBL was in Pakistan. We told you idiots that OBL was in Pakistan but your entire poplulation refused to even acknowledge the possibility. Pakistan refused to do anything about it and continued to hide OBL in your country. Did you really think we wouldn’t eventually do something about it?
Like I said, you people have to be the most ridiculous people on Earth. It boils down to this muslims, if you refuse to help us capture or kill radicals whose only motive in life is to kill Americans, then we will continue to bomb your country. Also, until you people completely change your attitiude towards us, you deserve to be bombed into submission. Take this as a hard life lesson. Learn from it and stop protecting well known mass muderers.
Today is a GREAT day for the world thanks to America’s Armed Forces. Thanks Pakistan. You did nothing. And it’s about to get REALLY UGLY for you guys.
This from the Web Archive record of an Indian website ..
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cac he:HhEh-2wPwVMJ:www.thepeoplesvoice.org/TPV3/Voice s.php/2009/04/29/osama-bin-laden-believed-dead-by- pak-int+osama-bin-laden-believed-dead-by-pak-int&c d=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=in&source=www.google.co.in
Anonymous said: on May 2nd, 2011 12:34 pm – “Now CIA can easily blackmail Western public to support CIA’s war to partition Pakistan and to steal Pakistan’s nuclear weapons.”
My response: It is pretty clear from yesterday that we can militarily do whatever we want in Pakistan. So, if we wanted your wack little knockoff nukes we’d just take’em. #Sunlight
That photo is a fake.
http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/05/02/65 68249-we-think-that-bin-laden-death-photo-is-a-fak e
On a completely unrelated sidenote – how beautiful is this place Abbotabad !…I was looking at the photos on differnt new websites and it seems like a beautiful peaceful place..well develped but in harmony with nature. Never heard of this place before.. Well as the saying going even ignominy is publicity.