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When bleary-eyed Pakistanis heard on television of the death of Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in a unilateral American operation in Abbottabad on the night of May 1, they began to reel under a terrible shock that has, over the days, acquired the sharp edge of anger and resentment. They aren't all card-holding members of Al Qaeda. Nor are they depressed because someone who spoke and fought against American hegemony was killed. The depth of their depression stems from the belying of the faith they reposed in the Pakistani military establishment, its ability to protect the nation, its repeated voicing of the intention to combat terror. You can't even say their distress is needless. Decidedly, these are early days and we haven't heard the complete and truthful narrative of 'Operation Geronimo', but consider what we know so far—that Americans flew into Pakistani air space, conducted a 40-minute operation at a villa close to the Kakul Military Academy in Abbottabad, killed bin Laden, took away his body and, before flying out, detonated one of their choppers, which had developed a snag and could not take off. It's the sound of the detonation that apparently prompted the Pakistani air force to scramble its jets. At the successful conclusion of the operation, US president Barack Obama rang up Pakistan's president Asif Ali Zardari to convey what happened on his territory. CIA director Leon Panetta rubbed more salt in Pakistan's wounds: he said the US did not give notice to Islamabad about the operation because it feared it may be leaked to the Al Qaeda supremo.
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You could say the first casualty in Pakistan's Osama nightmare is the reputation of the Pakistani army. As one army officer told Outlook, "At the time of the Raymond Davis affair, we had said that we were good but not God. Today, we admit we are not even good. It is a sorry state of affairs." Yet, he adds a caveat: "In order to reach bin Laden, the Americans would disregard the army, intelligence, anything. We have to understand this. There was absolutely no intelligence sharing about this operation." Sounds quite reasonable at one level, but there are others who wonder whether the superior technology of the Americans could enable them to take out Pakistan's nuclear assets as well. A senior army general scoffs at the idea. "It may not be realistic to draw an analogy between this undefended civilian area and some military/security installations which have elaborate local defence arrangements," he says.
Obama in prayer at the 9/11 memorial in New York
Whether or not Pakistan supplied intelligence that led to bin Laden, there's no denying that Islamabad will find it immensely difficult to ward off American pressure on key issues. As former CIA deputy chief John McLaughlin notes, "They now should feel under some great pressure to be very cooperative with us on the remaining issues, like going after the Taliban elsewhere in the country. It is called leverage." For one, the US will push Pakistan to conduct a military operation in North Waziristan to uproot the network of Jalaluddin Haqqani, who is responsible for attacks against the American forces in Afghanistan. Islamabad, in contrast, views the Haqqani network as its strategic asset.
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Pakistan's piquant position raises an important question: For how long can Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani resist cracking down on the Haqqani network and throwing a lifeline to Punjabi terrorist groups which target India? Gen (retd) Hamid Gul, a former spy master, feels the questions is irrelevant. As he told Outlook, "The Americans are unaware of what Pakistan can do. A desperate Pakistan is dangerous for the US and India and you cannot simply push us about. Where is the US without us inside Afghanistan? Pakistan should review its policy of fighting this war against terror. It should also tell the Americans to their face, 'Yanks, go home.'"
For Dr Shireen Mazari, CEO of Strategic Technology Resource, Pakistan has to make a cost-benefit analysis. "Pakistan will now have to make it very clear whether to continue to be pushed and kicked about for a few paltry dollars or make a dignified and clean break from a so-called alliance (with America) which was never really an alliance," she says.
Yet, there seems to be a growing clamour for Pakistan to review its strategies, stop treading in grey areas, and treat a terrorist as a terrorist without getting entangled in the rhetoric of "your terrorist is my freedom fighter". Expressing this sentiment was a Pakistani who tweeted, "I wonder how an ordinary soldier who is fighting against Taliban feels to see that his generals and intelligence agencies are protecting the enemy (the terrorist)."
Pervez Hoodbhoy, writing in the Express Tribune, feels the killing of bin Laden is a "transformational" moment for Pakistan. He explains: "It is time to dispense with Musharraf-era cat-and-mouse games. We must repudiate the current policy of verbally condemning jehadism—and actually fighting it in some places—but secretly supporting it in other places. Until the establishment firmly resolves that it shall not support armed and violent non-state actors of any persuasion, including the Lashkar-e-Toiba, Pakistan will remain in interminable conflict both with itself and the world." You have heard such sentiments before, haven't you?
| ALSO IN THIS STORY |
PAKISTAN Operation Geronimo has made it a season for Indian hardliners to up the ante |
OPERATION OSAMA Outlook builds the eye-popping narrative of how Pakistan was very much in on Osama's outing. Why isn't it saying so? |
 INTERVIEW The Independent's veteran Middle East correspondent, Robert Fisk on Pakistan's role |
FIRST PERSON Indelible impressions from two interviews with the Al Qaeda chief |
TERRORISM What is Osama bin Laden's legacy? And what does it hold for West Asia and the subcontinent? |
 OPINION Who wants a martyr in Osama? Certainly not the aam Muslim. |
AUTHORS: MARIANA BAABAR
PEOPLE: OSAMA BIN LADEN
TAGS: TERRORISM | AL-QAEDA | PAK-US | PAKISTAN ARMY
SECTION: INTERNATIONAL
SUBSECTION: COVER STORIES
PLACES: ABBOTTABAD | PAKISTAN
MAY 07, 2011 07:49 PM 8 | Now that ISI chief Pasha is reportedly in Washington, Pakistan must answer the million-dollar question: why did they leak information of Osama bin Laden's Abbottabad home to US Navy Seal raiders , though Pakistanis are known to be fabulously hospitable? Osama greviously faulted in complying whonouring the local culture while living in Abbottabad. ISI chief must satisfy USA administration why diddn't he caugh up 10% commission on one million dollar on construction cost of the building where he was staying and his maintenance and upkeep charges for over five years? The mistake proved costly. |
MAY 07, 2011 04:32 PM 7 | The way in which some Muslims in this country are going about abusing freedom of expression is setting the wrong precedents.We have been reading that a congregation in the heart of the city for friday prayers ,went about holding a special prayer for Ben Laden.If those who went about it feel they are justified in doing so ,they should not raise cries of human right abuses such as those in Gujarat during the 2002 riots.Ben laden was a mass murderer ,who brought disrepute to Islam if any sane Muslim is listening.If these guys felt he needed a Islamic burial ,why did they not do the same for all those 1000s who have been killed in the uprising in Libya,Yemen and Syria.If at all these innocent protestors deserve a decent burial.All such actions and statements will continue to undermine the already depleting standings the Muslims enjoy in the country.Is anybody listening.No. |
MAY 07, 2011 03:45 PM 6 | In Pakistan : Drones kill 17 in North Waziristan Elsewhere : "US pilot refuses to fly with Muslim leaders, asks them to get off the plane Two Muslim religious leaders say they were asked to leave a commercial airliner in Memphis and were told it was because the pilot refused to fly with them aboard. In India : Thanks Shias who welcomed Laden's death .Sunni Clerics are leading Friday Prayers for Laden . |
MAY 07, 2011 02:48 PM 5 | It is just as IMPOSSIBLE for Osama to stay in Pak without the Paki nowledge, just as it is IMPOSSIBLE for the Americans to gather intelligence without their support. Military ops are known for double crossings and treble crossings. One fact stands out : The Americans are delighted at the discomfiture they have put the Pakis in. |
MAY 07, 2011 01:50 PM 4 | "Four helicopters flew from Jalalabad in Afghanistan to Abbottabad in Pakistan, with hills and mountains in the way. Helicopters are not supersonic jets; they do not fly particularly fast. Now, I am no expert but I would guess that these four copters must have taken close to an hour to get to their target, 40 minutes to perform their mission and a further hour to return to Jalalabad. Thus, for around two-and-a-half hours, they were radar-visible over Pakistan or (if we are gullible enough to accept the fantasy that our radar was 'jammed' by some science-fictional Yankee device) they were at least visible to the swarms of satellites circling in our skies. More, once the shooting started so close to the Pakistan Military Academy, that alone should have brought platoons of young, highly trained officer cadets dashing to the compound in question." Yes, our military authorities knew about Operation Geronimo and were prepared for it.it is my view that this forthcoming operation was thrashed out between Mr Leon Panetta and General Shuja Pasha last month. The cloak of silence regarding the Pakistan military's foreknowledge and involvement was created as a barrier against possible popular backlash. The army perhaps, given its relationship with the Haqqani network and other al Qaeda franchisees, did not want bin Laden's blood to be too clearly seen on their hands. Thus, the powerful right hand of the government, the army, was in the picture. But the weak left hand, the political government, was not. " www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp Maiana Babbar neither Pak Columnists nor World are fools not to see through the role of Pak Army and ISI. |
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