Pakistan army knew about operation against Osama bin Laden

[Army of Pakistan]

Pakistan army knew about operation against Osama bin Laden

Fearing a public backlash for supporting US, Pakistan has downplayed its role.

May 5, 2011 14:08

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistani officials have told GlobalPost that the Pakistani army had full knowledge of the U.S. raid that led to the death of Osama bin Laden and that it played a larger role in the operation than previously acknowledged.

The statements run counter to the public position taken by officials in both Pakistan and the United States who have so far downplayed the role Pakistan’s military and intelligence community had in the attack, saying that it was limited to a small amount of information sharing.

One senior military official, who asked not to be named because he is not permitted to speak to the press, said that Pakistani army troops were in fact providing backup support when the United States began its operations inside the compound where bin Laden had been staying, including sealing off the neighborhood where the compound was located.

Officials interviewed scoffed at the idea that Pakistan could have been unaware of the American operation.

“It’s a no-fly zone,” said a Pakistani intelligence official, referring to the area around bin Laden’s mansion and the nearby military compound. “It is impossible for U.S. helicopters to fly over there without our knowledge and permission.”

A Pakistan Air Force official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, rejected reports that U.S. special forces had jammed Pakistan’s radar system in order to circumvent the no-fly zone.

“This is totally untrue. Neither our radars were jammed nor was any scrambling of any air force plane recorded,” the official said, referring to the practice of launching aircraft in the event that the airspace has been breached. Some observers said the helicopters may have been equipped with stealth technology, but that has not been confirmed.

Residents in the area confirmed that the Pakistan army appeared to have at least some knowledge of the operation well before it began. Several residents said that two hours before the United States launched its attack, Pakistani army personnel ordered them to switch off their lights inside and outside their homes and remain indoors until further notice.

“The army personnel cordoned off the entire area long before we heard the sounds of helicopters hovering over the area,” said Zulfikar Ahmed, who lives in the Abbottabad neighborhood of Bilal Town, where bin Laden’s compound is located. Locals interviewed by the BBC and several other local and international media outlets made similar statements.

Several meetings leading up to the attack, when viewed in sum, also indicate that Pakistan might have known of the operation beforehand.

“Gen. David Petraeus paid an extraordinary visit to Islamabad on April 25,” said a senior military official said. The official said Petraeus held a one-on-one meeting with Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Pakistan’s army chief of staff, in which they discussed the details of the operation.

The next day, Pakistan’s top military body — the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee — held its quarterly session, which was attended by Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, the country's intelligence chief, who is not a regular member of the body. Pasha had visited the United States to meet with the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, Leon Panetta, on April 11.

Analysts in Pakistan said that the Pakistani government likely wanted to hide its role in the operation to avoid a backlash from the public, which has grown increasingly impatient with the United States and the growing presence of the Central Intelligence Agency inside their country.

But now international pressure is growing on the military to answer not only for its lack of support in the raid but also for not knowing about bin Laden’s hideout, which was located close to the Pakistan Military Academy. Some in the military — which has long been one of the more respected institutions in the country — are looking to correct the record.

U.S. President Barack Obama has sought to diffuse the tension since the raid took place, calling Pakistan an important ally and highlighting the intelligence sharing between the two countries that helped lead the United States to bin Laden’s compound.

In his speech on Sunday announcing bin Laden’s death, Obama recognized Pakistan’s cooperation.

"It’s important to note that our counterterrorism cooperation with Pakistan helped lead us to bin Laden and the compound where he was hiding," the president said.

When contacted by GlobalPost about this latest information, the White House press office said all details about the operation have already been released.

White House spokesman Jay Carney on Wednesday said the United States’ relationship with Pakistan was “complicated,” but that it was important to maintain.

“The fight is not done, and we look forward to cooperating with Pakistan in the future,” he said at a White House press briefing. “As others have said, more terrorists have been killed on Pakistani soil than probably any other country. And the cooperation we’ve received from Pakistan has been very useful in that regard.”

The European Union on Thursday also came to the defense of Pakistan, calling the country an “important partner,” echoing similar statements from officials at NATO that were made on Wednesday.

Experts and analysts here in Islamabad said that the Pakistani government itself, which is concerned about appearing overly friendly with the United States and angering its citizens, is likely encouraging the United States to downplay Pakistan’s involvement in finding bin Laden and the eventual operation against him.

In fact, analysts said, the Pakistani government has long been trying to compose a storyline that it is actively working against the United States — an effort that is aimed at keeping the country’s population from rising up against the political leadership. Pakistanis have grown tired of U.S. involvement in its affairs in the last decade and ongoing drone attacks in its northern tribal belt that have killed numerous civilians.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Salman Bashir, for example, told reporters Thursday that the Pakistani military first learned about the operation when a U.S. helicopter crashed at the start of the attack.

“Pakistan’s civilian and military leadership does not want to be the center of hatred, not only within Pakistan … but also in the Arab world,” where it believes elements of the population still support bin Laden, said Najam Sethi, a political analyst in Pakistan.

But many here said this strategy could, in the end, hurt the country by making it appear more culpable than it actually is — a reality that is already beginning to take shape as the American media, and some members of Congress, asks why Pakistan hasn’t been more helpful.

In the wake of all of the criticism, some here are now calling on Pakistan’s leaders to be more forthcoming about their cooperation with the United States, especially in regard to Sunday’s raid.

“If Pakistan or U.S. officials do not publicize the cooperation between the two sides in the operation against bin Laden, Pakistan will be in serious trouble on the diplomatic front,” Sethi said.

Salim Safi, a security analyst based in Peshawar, said it seemed clear that there had been a significant amount of cooperation between the two sides — a reality that should be made public, even if Pakistani officials think it might hurt them politically in the short-term.

“The Pakistani government and the military establishment must not hide the facts from their own people,” he said. “They must come forward with the truth.”

News | Pakistan | Osama bin Laden Dead

 

[@nline]

that knew that.

 

[Army of Pakistan]

Our correspondent says residents near the compound in Abbottabad reported that Pakistani soldiers had asked them to switch off their lights an hour before the attack, but the ISI official said this was not true and that it had no advance knowledge of the raid.

BBC News - Bin Laden: Pakistan intelligence agency admits failures

 

[abaseen99]

what is this

 

[Riz]

i have posted before that our ssg was on its way at 1 am, to take the control of around the compound, after some time there were announcement for peoples to stay home and keep the lite off, and one more solid reason whom they deliverd the captured childerns, womens before leaving ?

 

[T-Faz]

No U.S. operatives were hurt or killed in the dramatic, early-morning raid that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in his northern Pakistan hideout. At least, none that we know about here at 1:50 a.m. Monday, EDT. But there may have been casualties among American allies, according to fragmentary press reports in the hours after the attack. That would mean U.S. troops had some friends along during the raid, despite some sources insisting it was an Americans-only show.

Let’s be clear: In these heady hours, information is flying in all directions, and a lot of it is bound to be wrong. But several early reports, if true, offer a very murky window into possible direct Pakistani assistance in the killing of bin Laden. The reports also underscore the scale and ferocity of the raid —and into the aerial weaponry the Americans used to pull off arguably the most important military operation of the decade. Under the cover of darkness, two or three helicopters infiltrated U.S. operators —maybe Special Operations Forces, maybe CIA agents, maybe both. They were brought into the vicinity of a compound where bin Laden was thought to be hiding, near the city of Abbottabad around 35 miles from the Pakistani capital. “The physical security measures of the compound are extraordinary. It has 12-to-18-foot walls topped with barbed wire. Internal walls section off different portions of the compound to provide extra privacy. Access to the compound is restricted by two security gates,” a senior administration official told reporters Monday night. “The main structure, a three-story building, has few windows facing the outside of the compound. A terrace on the third floor has a 7-foot privacy wall.”

One or two American choppers arrived safely near the compound. A third craft —allegedly a Pakistani bird —was struck by ground fire, some local news outlets claimed. “According to eyewitnesses, a low-flying helicopter crashed in a populated area, and as a result two houses were engulfed in flames,” a Pakistani news service reported, an hour before the world knew bin Laden was dead. “Three people including two women were injured in the attack and were taken to the CMH Hospital.” “A huge window shaking bang here in Abbottabad,” tweeted Sohaib Athar, a local IT consultant. “I hope its not the start of something nasty :-S” The crash occurred near the Pakistani Military Academy in Abbottabad, according to the report, highlighting bin Laden’s long-term proximity to Pakistan government forces —and thus the great extent of his local protection. The two injured women were almost certainly bystanders on the ground. It’s not clear if the injured man was a member of the helicopter crew or another civilian.

The apparent details surrounding the helicopter shoot-down fill in some of the (perhaps intentional) gaps left by U.S. President Barack Obama when he announced late Sunday night that bin Laden is dead and his body is in American custody. The operation itself was the culmination of years of careful and highly advanced intelligence work. Officers from the CIA, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency all worked very hard as a team to analyze and pinpoint this compound. The president and, later, a pair of senior administration officials, hinted at a brief, intense battle at bin Laden’s compound —a 40 minute-raid that killed bin Laden, one of his sons, and two of his couriers. But Obama made no mention of a hot landing zone —one of the most dangerous scenarios in modern military operations. It appears, as of this moment, that the raid that killed bin Laden was no mere nighttime snatch-and-grab. It was a battle. The scale of the resistance implies an equivalent U.S. force. It’s unlikely the CIA and the military’s Joint Special Operations Command would risk sending in a lightly protected team to face terrorists capable of shooting down helicopters. That means air cover —most likely armed drones or Air Force gunships flying from one of the secretive U.S. bases in Pakistan.

As for the infiltrating U.S. choppers themselves, the terrain offers clues about their identity. Abbottabad starts out at around 5,000 feet above sea level and only gets higher. The commando-transporting 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment possesses modified versions of the regular Army’s UH-60 Blackhawk and CH-47 Chinook helicopters. The Blackhawk is the less powerful of the two, and in Afghanistan the Army tends to assign it to missions under 6,000 feet. The Chinook handles the higher altitudes that are common across eastern Afghanistan and northern Pakistan. For that reason, the American choppers over Abbottabad may have been tricked-out MH-47Gs, armed with up to four door guns (pictured above). Those helos are noisy, however. So another candidate might be the quieter, ultralight, single-engine Little Bird copter often favored by special-operations forces. Obama only hinted at the level of Pakistani involvement in the raid. “It’s important to note that our counterterrorism cooperation with Pakistan helped lead us to bin Laden,” the president said. But senior administration officials on a conference call shortly after Obama’s announcement made a somewhat contradictory point. They said that the U.S. didn’t share intelligence with Pakistan immediately prior to the raid. That would seem to run counter to the initial local news reports clearly stating that at least one Pakistani chopper was involved in the assault. A later report insists there were just two choppers, they were both American, and one was damaged flying in and subsequently destroyed by U.S. forces to avoid it falling into enemy hands. “Since taliban (probably) don’t have helicopters, and since they’re saying it was not ‘ours’, so must be a complicated situation,” Athar tweeted. Depending on which version is true, Pakistan either had a direct role in the risky, bloody raid … or no role at all. You get the sense that this will all get cleared up soon, as more info emerges about the long-awaited killing of the 9/11 mastermind.

Latest on Osama Raid: Tricked-Out Choppers, Live Tweets, Possible Pakistani Casualties | Danger Room | Wired.com

 

[abaseen99]

what is the

---------- Post added at 12:29 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:28 AM ----------

what is the ISPR breafing

 

[tallboy123]

if pakistan knew about this operation,they would have dragged his osama near border and kill him there or drag his body near border and say he was killed in afghanistan and save pakistan from being called terrorist hub...but why didn't they do?

i don't beleive this report...sorry

 

[DV RULES]

ISPR press release is enough to understand that there were military cooperation & Pakistan involvement, because in ISPR press release & Sulman Basheer statement main point was to deliver message or warning for India & other possible countries not to take this method easy & consequence less.

 

[abaseen99]

there is a lots of question one is that two or three holecapters inter in our area but no body knows about it then one helecapter crash but no us casualty.

 

[mehru]

Pakistan army knew about operation against Osama bin Laden

Fearing a public backlash for supporting US, Pakistan has downplayed its role.

May 5, 2011 14:08

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistani officials have told GlobalPost that the Pakistani army had full knowledge of the U.S. raid that led to the death of Osama bin Laden and that it played a larger role in the operation than previously acknowledged.

The statements run counter to the public position taken by officials in both Pakistan and the United States who have so far downplayed the role Pakistan’s military and intelligence community had in the attack, saying that it was limited to a small amount of information sharing.

One senior military official, who asked not to be named because he is not permitted to speak to the press, said that Pakistani army troops were in fact providing backup support when the United States began its operations inside the compound where bin Laden had been staying, including sealing off the neighborhood where the compound was located.

Officials interviewed scoffed at the idea that Pakistan could have been unaware of the American operation.

“It’s a no-fly zone,” said a Pakistani intelligence official, referring to the area around bin Laden’s mansion and the nearby military compound. “It is impossible for U.S. helicopters to fly over there without our knowledge and permission.”

A Pakistan Air Force official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, rejected reports that U.S. special forces had jammed Pakistan’s radar system in order to circumvent the no-fly zone.

“This is totally untrue. Neither our radars were jammed nor was any scrambling of any air force plane recorded,” the official said, referring to the practice of launching aircraft in the event that the airspace has been breached. Some observers said the helicopters may have been equipped with stealth technology, but that has not been confirmed.

Residents in the area confirmed that the Pakistan army appeared to have at least some knowledge of the operation well before it began. Several residents said that two hours before the United States launched its attack, Pakistani army personnel ordered them to switch off their lights inside and outside their homes and remain indoors until further notice.

“The army personnel cordoned off the entire area long before we heard the sounds of helicopters hovering over the area,” said Zulfikar Ahmed, who lives in the Abbottabad neighborhood of Bilal Town, where bin Laden’s compound is located. Locals interviewed by the BBC and several other local and international media outlets made similar statements.

Several meetings leading up to the attack, when viewed in sum, also indicate that Pakistan might have known of the operation beforehand.

“Gen. David Petraeus paid an extraordinary visit to Islamabad on April 25,” said a senior military official said. The official said Petraeus held a one-on-one meeting with Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Pakistan’s army chief of staff, in which they discussed the details of the operation.

The next day, Pakistan’s top military body — the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee — held its quarterly session, which was attended by Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, the country's intelligence chief, who is not a regular member of the body. Pasha had visited the United States to meet with the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, Leon Panetta, on April 11.

Analysts in Pakistan said that the Pakistani government likely wanted to hide its role in the operation to avoid a backlash from the public, which has grown increasingly impatient with the United States and the growing presence of the Central Intelligence Agency inside their country.

But now international pressure is growing on the military to answer not only for its lack of support in the raid but also for not knowing about bin Laden’s hideout, which was located close to the Pakistan Military Academy. Some in the military — which has long been one of the more respected institutions in the country — are looking to correct the record.

U.S. President Barack Obama has sought to diffuse the tension since the raid took place, calling Pakistan an important ally and highlighting the intelligence sharing between the two countries that helped lead the United States to bin Laden’s compound.

In his speech on Sunday announcing bin Laden’s death, Obama recognized Pakistan’s cooperation.

"It’s important to note that our counterterrorism cooperation with Pakistan helped lead us to bin Laden and the compound where he was hiding," the president said.

When contacted by GlobalPost about this latest information, the White House press office said all details about the operation have already been released.

White House spokesman Jay Carney on Wednesday said the United States’ relationship with Pakistan was “complicated,” but that it was important to maintain.

“The fight is not done, and we look forward to cooperating with Pakistan in the future,” he said at a White House press briefing. “As others have said, more terrorists have been killed on Pakistani soil than probably any other country. And the cooperation we’ve received from Pakistan has been very useful in that regard.”

The European Union on Thursday also came to the defense of Pakistan, calling the country an “important partner,” echoing similar statements from officials at NATO that were made on Wednesday.

Experts and analysts here in Islamabad said that the Pakistani government itself, which is concerned about appearing overly friendly with the United States and angering its citizens, is likely encouraging the United States to downplay Pakistan’s involvement in finding bin Laden and the eventual operation against him.

In fact, analysts said, the Pakistani government has long been trying to compose a storyline that it is actively working against the United States — an effort that is aimed at keeping the country’s population from rising up against the political leadership. Pakistanis have grown tired of U.S. involvement in its affairs in the last decade and ongoing drone attacks in its northern tribal belt that have killed numerous civilians.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Salman Bashir, for example, told reporters Thursday that the Pakistani military first learned about the operation when a U.S. helicopter crashed at the start of the attack.

“Pakistan’s civilian and military leadership does not want to be the center of hatred, not only within Pakistan … but also in the Arab world,” where it believes elements of the population still support bin Laden, said Najam Sethi, a political analyst in Pakistan.

But many here said this strategy could, in the end, hurt the country by making it appear more culpable than it actually is — a reality that is already beginning to take shape as the American media, and some members of Congress, asks why Pakistan hasn’t been more helpful.

In the wake of all of the criticism, some here are now calling on Pakistan’s leaders to be more forthcoming about their cooperation with the United States, especially in regard to Sunday’s raid.

“If Pakistan or U.S. officials do not publicize the cooperation between the two sides in the operation against bin Laden, Pakistan will be in serious trouble on the diplomatic front,” Sethi said.

Salim Safi, a security analyst based in Peshawar, said it seemed clear that there had been a significant amount of cooperation between the two sides — a reality that should be made public, even if Pakistani officials think it might hurt them politically in the short-term.

“The Pakistani government and the military establishment must not hide the facts from their own people,” he said. “They must come forward with the truth.”

News | Pakistan | Osama bin Laden Dead

Glad to know that nation concerns were given "so importance" but by denying any role or accepting incompetence, don't they think that they have enraged the nation even more? Plan backfired i guess.

 

[DV RULES]

But still a confusing point is; if Pakistan army was involved and they were informed then why US special forces used Stealth type Helicopter in operation?
This type of helicopter might used only in case if Pakistan was left totally in dark.

What you people think?

 

[mehru]

But still a confusing point is; if Pakistan army was involved and they were informed then why US special forces used Stealth type Helicopter in operation?
This type of helicopter might used only in case if Pakistan was left totally in dark.

What you people think?

I seriously think that army had no clue of the operation and by the time they realized it was too late.

Lies upon lies. They are just trying to hide their incompetency.

 

[mjnaushad]

Fearing backlash..... why are they fearing....??? Isn't that a failure as well.... We wont improve until we wont accept our mistakes.... It a huge failure that they didn't know that some high value target is there.... Didn't US changed lot of things in its security departments after 9/11. The sooner we realize that our forces did make mistakes and rectify it the better it would be.

And as far the US op is concerned everybody is speaking sovereignty on top of there lungs I wont. Because i am happy infact more than happy that OBL is gone and i thank US for that. If we kept our ego problem and didn't improve it wont be long when US will come for others. ISI needs to do a little more. ISI was great in the start and looks like the enemy learned from there mistakes and the ISI catches slowed down. I am proud of my forces and ISI but they really need to put a little more effort. And this matter should be investigated that how come ISI didn't know or were slow than CIA. They should be the no 1. And again we should learn from our mistake.

 

[Army of Pakistan]

Pakistan Military Played Key Role In Bin Laden Raid

The United States has said that no one in the Pakistan military or intelligence community knew about the US raid on Osama bin Laden's residence in Abbottabad. The Pakistan government, military and intelligence service likewise disclaimed prior knowledge.

It doesn't add up. And the reason it doesn't add up is because it is not true.

GlobalPost reports:

Pakistani officials have told GlobalPost that the Pakistani army had full knowledge of the U.S. raid that led to the death of Osama bin Laden and that it played a larger role in the operation than previously acknowledged.

One senior military official, who asked not to be named because he is not permitted to speak to the press, said that Pakistani army troops were in fact providing backup support when the United States began its operations inside the compound where bin Laden had been staying, including sealing off the neighborhood where the compound was located.

Residents in the area confirmed that the Pakistan army appeared to have at least some knowledge of the operation well before it began. Several residents said that two hours before the United States launched its attack, Pakistani army personnel ordered them to switch off their lights inside and outside their homes and remain indoors until further notice.

“The army personnel cordoned off the entire area long before we heard the sounds of helicopters hovering over the area,” said Zulfikar Ahmed, who lives in the Abbottabad neighborhood of Bilal Town, where bin Laden’s compound is located. Locals interviewed by the BBC and several other local and international media outlets made similar statements.

You can read the full report here. The reason that both the US and Pakistan governments proclaimed that Pakistan had no prior knowledge of the raid was to protect the Pakistan government from the wrath of its citizenry (or some of its citizenry). It was, as they say, useful fiction.


Read more: Bin Laden: Pakistan assisted US strike