Pakistan's Malik Claims Government Had No Clue About Bin Laden's Presence

Pakistan continues to claim the government had no clue Osama Bin Laden was holed up in his large compound in Abbottabad, a mere 75 miles from Islamabad and a very short distance from the Pakistan Military Academy, for over five years.  

Interior Minister Rehman Malik appeared on Wednesday before the Abbottabad Inquiry Commission and claimed that at no stage was the government aware of Osama bin Laden’s presence in Pakistan, an insider told Dawn.

The commission is investigating the US commando raid in Abbottabad on May 2 last year which left Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden dead.

The minister gave a detailed briefing to the commission, which lasted six hours, about the internal security system, country’s visa policy and presence of illegal immigrants in the country.

[snip] During the briefing, the minister admitted the failure of civil intelligence agencies in tracking down the Al Qaeda founder.

However, it was for the first time that a government official told the Abbottabad Commission that the government was unaware of Osama bin Laden’s presence in the country.

It seems highly unlikely that authorities weren't somehow aware of his presence after all those years. Surely someone would have questioned the need for 18 ft high fortified walls with two security gates surrounding a compound that was much larger than other houses in the area.  But what else can they say. And they will keep denying that there are elements in the government and their intelligence service (ISI) that are aiding and abetting the Taliban.  But it would be well-nigh impossible to purge those who  have sympathies with the extremists, so nothing much will change in that region.

Pakistan Doctor Who Helped CIA Find Bin Laden Charged With Treason

Instead of being hailed as a hero, the Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA in its hunt to kill Osama Bin Laden will be  charged with 'high treason'.  So says a government commission assigned to investigate the U.S. operation that ultimately killed Bin Laden. Dr. Shakil Afridi, who set up a vaccination programme that was tasked with trying to get DNA samples from Bin Laden family members, could face the death penalty for ridding the world of the most wanted man on the planet. But it's quite obvious the Pakistanis see things quite differently. 

I'm sure a lot of the anger has to do with the fact that the Bin Laden raid was a covert operation that took the Pakistanis by surprise, and the panel was more than likely set up to save face for their monumental ineptitude.  But had the government been apprised of the situation, Bin Laden would probably still be alive somewhere today.  Pakistan's spy agency- Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has oft been accused of supporting the Taliban's Haqqani Network, and I would venture to say it was well aware of Bin Laden's residency in Abbottabad. His fortified mansion was smack dab in the middle of a military town, and approximately 75 from Islamabad, the capital. And yet he lived there for five years!  How could they not have known?  We finally caught up with him after ten long years,  but rest assured  it took that long to find him because the Pakistanis wanted it that way.

Thankfully there are some, like the good doctor, willing to put their lives on the line to rid the world of terrorism.  But most Pakistanis are perfectly content to live alongside the violence, embracing their backwards Sharia law and their Blasphemy law, and taking steps back into the dark ages alongside their Afghan brothers. 

They are not our friends, and yet we continue to send them aid, and that's not likely to change any time soon.

Who knows what will happen to Afridi and his family. The U.S. has been attempting to pressure the Pakistanis into letting them come to the U.S. but,  so far, they'd rather charge him with treason.

Sources: Al Jazeera, CNN, GuardianUK