Osama bin Laden death one year on: how much did Pakistan know?

Ever since May 2, speculation has raged about how much Pakistan
knew about Osama bin Laden’s presence in Pakistan and the raid that killed
him. But so far no evidence has emerged of high-level collusion with bin
Laden.

Talat Masood, a retired general, said the political and military leadership
were thrown into crisis by their failure to detect approaching US
helicopters and the presence of the world’s most wanted man under their
noses.

“There was a huge amount of embarrassment and shock but that has faded
now,” he said.

“In the longer term, his legacy lives on with those groups that draw
inspiration from him, and in some ways they are much more dangerous than bin
Laden was in his final years.”

For the truth is that a year after the mission to kill bin Laden, Pakistan
remains home to the world’s most wanted man as well as a slew of America’s
most lethal enemies.

The probable presence of bin Laden’s al-Qaeda
successor, Ayman al-Zawahiri, near the Afghan border continues to raise
questions about Islamabad’s commitment to tackling terrorists and insurgent
groups.

The tribal regions are also used as a haven by fighters loyal to Sirajuddin
Haqqani, launch cross-border raids on international troops in Afghanistan.

Hafiz Saeed, founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba, lives openly in the city of Lahore
despite last month being placed on a US wanted list with a $10m bounty on
his head.

And the Afghan Taliban leadership – including Mullah Omar – is believed by
many to be headquartered in the south-western city of Quetta.

Bruce Riedel, a former CIA analyst and adviser to Barack Obama on Afghanistan
and Pakistan, said the country was more dangerous than ever.

“Three of the five US most wanted terrorists are there and two enjoy the
protection of the army – Hafiz Saeed and Mullah Omar,” he said.

Yet in many ways Pakistan remains a country in denial. Critics say the country
lacks military or political leadership prepared to take on the militants,
preferring to blame outside forces – drones, insecurity in Afghanistan, the
CIA – for its woes.

And few people in Abbottabad really believe the al-Qaeda leader lived among
them for five years.

Azim Khan Abbasi, 17, who was woken by the noise of the US helicopter
crashing, said he wanted photographic proof of bin Laden’s presence in the
country.

“We were told what had happened but can’t believe it. We lived here and
would have seen if such a big man had lived here,” he said, standing on
all that was left of the stone floor of the demolished house.

“He would have had a lot of security but there was nothing.” The
view is common in the town, according to Mohammed Shahid Chaudhry, a local
journalist.

“The American and Pakistan intelligence agencies say that he was here but
for a year we were not allowed in his house, so what are we supposed to
believe?”

Even the committee of judges and retired generals set up to investigate bin
Laden’s presence in Pakistan is making no assumptions, and has referred to
the “person allegedly killed in Abbottabad” during press
conferences.

Their report, expected earlier this year, remains unfinished.

Conspiracy theories have proliferated as a result.

Many people believe bin Laden never lived in Pakistan. Instead his presence
was used to justify drone attacks on Pakistan.

Perhaps he was brought from Afghanistan to be killed in Abbottabad as part of
a campaign to smear Pakistan’s already shabby reputation. Maybe he died
years ago, or maybe he is still alive.

One thing seems certain: With the exception of a tiny minority of hardliners,
no one wants to remember the events of May 2, 2011.

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