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?
I am so glad he is dead. Just wish teh killings in paksiatn woudl now stop and America will close its war on the Muslims.
Just hide and pray and wait for the backlash from his cursed followers.
After doing everything so well organized, I think the Obama admin lost it by burial at sea and refusing to release pics. This will only create doubt and will come back to haunt them.
Shahid, if your theory was true then they would have abducted her as well so that she dont tell truth to Pakistani agencies.
Is he really dead or is he taken alive and will be tortured for rest of his life to extract information?
It is possible for the Americans to actually stun OBL and fake an encounter that he is killed in the presence of OBL’s wife and children.
For the same reasons the Americans did not take OBL’s wife as hostage who supposedly knows a lot about OBL’s plans.
That is the reason the Americans can not give an authentic picture of the dead OBL