Thaindian News

Islamabad, May 2(ANI): The fact that Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who was killed by US forces in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Sunday, was apparently living in relative luxury not far from Islamabad could pose awkward questions for Pakistan, a security analyst has said.

The Saudi-born terrorist, who had evaded capture for a decade, was killed in a top secret operation involving a small team of US special forces in Abbottabad city, located 50 kilometres northeast of Islamabad and 150 kilometres east of Peshawar

“For some time there will be a lot of tension between Washington and Islamabad because Bin Laden seems to have been living here close to Islamabad,” The Dawn quoted Imtiaz Gul, as saying.

“If the ISI had known then somebody within the ISI must have leaked this information. Pakistan will have to do a lot of damage control because the Americans have been reporting he is in Pakistan. This is a serious blow to the credibility of Pakistan.”

However, defence analyst and former Army official Talat Masood said the fact that Laden was killed in a joint operation would limit the damage to Pakistan’s image.

“There should be a sigh of relief because this will take some pressure off of Pakistan. Pakistan most probably has contributed to this, and Pakistan can take some credit for this - being such an iconic figure, it’s a great achievement,” Masood said.

Laden, accused of being behind a number of atrocities, including the attacks on New York and Washington on 11 September 2001, was at the top of the US “most wanted” list.

He had approved the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington in which nearly 3,000 people were killed, saying later that the results had exceeded his expectations.

His death will be seen as a major blow to Al-Qaeda, but also raise fears of reprisal attacks. (ANI)