Abbottabad Commission report: Military faults local police
ISLAMABAD:
In their briefing to the Abbottabad Commission, Pakistan’s military passed the buck to the local police for not spotting the house Osama Bin Laden and his family had been living in for years.
Army’s board of inquiry, established under Lt-Gen Javed Iqbal, told the commission that the local Nawan Shehar police station was located close to Bin Laden’s compound; but the police failed to observe anything unusual about the place and no report on anything suspicious was ever filed neither by the police nor special branch, which were responsible to maintain a close watch on the area. This is according to the Abbottabad Commission report leaked to Arab news network Al Jazeera, a copy of which is available on its website.
The board of inquiry maintained that the police ignored or failed to take note of even the visible violation of cantonment regulations in the shape of construction of a third storey at the compound. “They also did not detect anything strange or noteworthy in the manner or the activities of the two brothers; while the special branch had the responsibility to keep an eye on all unusual activities, behaviours or visits to the area due to its proximity to Pakistan Military Academy (PMA), the board stated.”
“Since high-profile personalities regularly visited the PMA, sweeps were regularly carried out to ensure against any untoward incident. However, the special branch was understaffed and underequipped to do a proficient job,” the board stated. According to the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)’s estimates and Bin Laden’s diary, he had moved to the areas in August 2005 and had maintained a low profile. “And as the house was located within the Abbottabad cantonment; it was least expected to draw any attention as a possible terror hideout,” the board said.
The board maintained that due to the presence of a plethora of security and intelligence agencies and civil and military organisations, it was difficult to coordinate and share information. Poor coordination among agencies, duplication of work, qualitative and quantitative inadequacies of training, skills and equipment were among the reasons that made it possible for Bin Laden to evade detection in Abbottabad, the board told the commission
Speaking before the commission, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) said that the American CIA had rented a number of houses in Islamabad, a development that had been reported to the government.
The spy agency said Bin Laden was not operational since 2005 and his Egyptian deputy Ayman al Zawahiri was running al Qaeda’s affairs; therefore, everyone, including the US, thought that Bin Laden was dead.
The commission rejected the ISI’s assertion, saying that the US had never called off its search for Bin Laden, they had just stopped sharing information with the ISI. The commission said the ISI abandoned its search as soon as it thought the US had stopped looking for Bin Laden.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 10th, 2013.
Osama bin Laden: How not to lose a fugitive in 10 long years
KARACHI:
The Guardian newspaper notes that Osama bin Laden hid from spy satellites under a cowboy hat, did not pay property taxes and had a run-in with a traffic policeman in Swat.
1. According to the Abbottabad commission “collective incompetence and negligence” by the intelligence agencies was the main reason why the al Qaeda chief remained undetected for so long. Thankfully for us, this proves Pakistani army not housing the terrorist.
2. A traffic policeman in Swat could have ended the hunt for the world’s most wanted man soon after 2001 had he not “quickly settled the matter,” when he pulled over a car for over-speeding, carrying a clean-shaved Osama. This was when Bin Laden was being smuggled into the country.
3. America’s number one enemy used to wear a cowboy hat and stand under grape trellis to avoid being seen by US spy satellites.
4. Osama was a man of frugal tastes. Before coming to Abbottabad, he had just six pairs of shalwar qameez. His lack of possessions made neighbours believe that Bin Laden moved between locations.
5. Pakistan suffers from “governance implosion syndrome”. The ISI was unwilling to share important intelligence with the police.”
6. Since the children were never allowed to leave the premises of the house, Bin Laden tried to entertain his grandchildren by encouraging them to compete against each other in tending their vegetable patches. When the neighbour’s daughter recognised from TV that the ‘poor uncle’ who lived upstairs was world’s most wanted man, she could not watch television anymore.
7. Although a garrison town, the prime reason that Abottabad is free of terrorist attacks is that so many terrorist families live there. Bin Laden’s band of brothers who also dwelled in the suburban city included another top al Qaeda operative, Abu Faraj al-Libi and a Bali bomber, Umar Patek.
8. The property was bought using a fake national ID card, the third floor was built illegally and the occupants did not pay taxes.
9. Pakistan’s spies deeply distrust their US counterparts. According to Pasha, the “main agenda of the CIA was to have the ISI declared a terrorist organisation”. The CIA refused to share intelligence with the ISI because the CIA wanted to deny Pakistan the credit for nabbing the world’s most wanted man.
10. The CIA was very active in Abbottabad and there were “ground assets” to aid the raid on Bin Laden. “Suspicious activities” included the cutting down of trees to clear the approach of the helicopters and the renting of a nearby house for people supposedly working for the USAID.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 10th, 2013.
