Osama’s ghost, and Zia’s

Osama bin Laden's capture from the garrison town of Abbottabad, just a couple of hours drive from the capital city of Islamabad, is extremely scandalous. This is a story that means different things for different people and organisations. While it will bring accolades to Barack Obama and the CIA, fargreater questions will be asked about the will of Pakistan's security establishment in fighting the war on terror. Many in Pakistan find it hard to believe that the ISI, which sniffs around all places and keeps a close watch on ordinary citizens, could not have detected bin Laden in a place quite close to the army's primary training academy, the Pakistan Military Academy, Kakul.

Pakistan's foreign office issued a bland statement confirming nothing more than general cooperation with the US in fighting the war on terror. Media reports also emphasise that the military operation was more American than Pakistani. Indubitably, there would have been some tactical cooperation from GHQ Rawalpindi; without that the US might not have been able to conduct its "kill bin Laden" operation. It is possible that some arrangement might have been worked out between the two militaries in a bid to sort out their bilateral tensions. After all, Pakistan has always helped catch al-Qaeda operatives when under immense pressure from Washington.

We would not be told exactly how deep the Pakistan's military's involvement went, given the fear of repercussions. The local al-Qaeda franchises will not take kindly to the news, and there is a fear that these forces will strike at the Pakistani state, especially if they suspect any involvement. And there are people inside the security establishment and in society at large who are sympathetic to jihad and to organisations such as al-Qaeda.

Indeed, the death of bin Laden is just an event and not the end of a trend in Pakistan and the region. In fact, Osama's death has an uncanny resemblance to General Zia-ul-Haq's death on August 17, 1988 — it was hard to believe that the man had died. We in Pakistan had lived for so long with General Zia; and now with bin Laden, that it will take a while before the reality begins to sink in. In fact, the pro-jihad media outlets, anchors and commentators did not wait long before they started spewing venom against the US and calling this some big conspiracy.

... contd.

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