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?
Good riddance. Thank you Pakistan for your help in getting this beast who is a killer of Pakistanis as well as Americans.
@random american
though , under other circumstances i would have known better than to dignify your disgusting remarks with a comment, but since today is a day you and rest of the western world must be feeling triumphant i would ask you to show an ounce of consideration for the facts . i don’t blame you for the cruelty , since U.S.A will find means to justify it, they never run short of reasons. (non-existent) weapons of mass destruction and you make Iraq a hell hole, you can bomb away the innocent lebanese and Palestinians under yet another pretext of ‘defending yourself’. you can certainly do anything because you think you have the absolute authority over the world.
our problem is the hypocrisy, its insane and unacceptable. the way you introduced ‘democracy in Afghanistan’ through your ‘peaceful means’ , the matter is laughable.the tone you just talked in , is a good reminder of how ameriacans will never consider ‘other life forms’ as equal human beings.
as long as you carry on with the hypocrisy and cruelty in the wake of your supermacy (which is a very temporary thing in nature) we fail to trust you. and we continute to hate you.
Osama, even in his death, will kill US-Pakistan relations… and US and Pakistan will fall for his game again!
The image of Dead Osama is a fake. It has been circulating since past two years. Need to take it down.
http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/05/02/65 68249-webs-bin-laden-death-photo-just-the-photo-is -fake
As a Pakistani in US, I just wish that Osama had been killed in Afghanistan. I am worried that the sentiments of ordinary, ignorant American public will be misdirected.
The founder of AL QUAEDA is sitting pretty at Crawford Farm in Texas.