A decade has passed since Operation Neptune Spear struck into the heart of Pakistan. The clandestine US mission targeted a residential compound in Abbottabad, close to a local military academy, and eliminated Osama Bin Laden. In the immediate aftermath, questions were raised regarding the efficacy of Pakistan’s intelligence agencies since the Al Qaeda chief had reportedly been living in the area since 2005.
The year 2011 was a particularly bad one for Pak-US ties. In January, Raymond Davis, a CIA operative killed three individuals in Lahore; two in alleged self-defence and the third in a “hit and run” accident as his car sped away from the scene on the wrong side of the road. The unilateral strike against Bin Laden took place in May. By the year’s end in November, US-led NATO forces attacked a Pakistan Army checkpost in Salala, killing 28 Pakistani military personnel. Pakistan retaliated by shutting down US bases on this side of the border and blocking NATO logistics transit facility routes in the country.
While none of the above boded well for the bilateral relationship, it was the US killing of Bin Laden that incensed much of Pakistan’s citizenry. Especially since the raid was believed to have been conducted without the knowledge of the Pakistani state. To many, this represented a grave breach of sovereignty while, externally, the country’s reputation was damaged. A joint sitting of Parliament was immediately convened and in an unprecedented move, the country’s military establishment presented itself for accountability. Then Director General of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha offered to resign over the admitted intelligence failure, though this was rejected by the Army chief. A special commission headed by the Supreme Court’s then most senior judge, Justice Javed Iqbal, was convened to probe the incident. The report, although partially leaked, has never officially been made public.
Today, the US claims to have defeated Al Qaeda yet the international community’s pressure on Pakistan has not abated, with Islamabad being put on the FATF grey list back in 2018. Next month will decide the country’s fate on this front
Conspiracy theories soon began to emerge about the possibility of the ISI harbouring the world’s most wanted fugitive. Indeed, in her book, The Wrong Enemy: America in Afghanistan, 2001-2014, British journalist Carlotta Gall asserted that the ISI had maintained a secret desk assigned to handle Bin Laden and that the whereabouts of his hideout was known to the spy chief. Both charges were denied by the ISI. The fractured Pak-US relationship recovered somewhat but not enough to prevent Washington from suspending military aid to the country as well reimbursements for counter-terrorism operations under the Coalition Support
Fund (CSF).
Despite Pakistan’s role in bringing the Taliban to the negotiating table for
Afghan peace – distrust between Washington and Islamabad persists. In the post-9/11 environment, Pakistan intensified operations against extremists, yet American demands to ‘do more’ kept coming. Even as Al Qaeda fighters fleeing across the Afghan border into Pakistan were apprehended by security forces and handed over to the US before being taken to Guantanamo Bay.
After the strike against Bin Laden, Pakistan faced accusations of not taking effective action against militant groups. However, Islamabad maintained that the war on terror had cost its security personnel and civilians dearly, and that about 70,000 Pakistanis had died during the ongoing offensive. The message was that the world should acknowledge the country’s sacrifices.
Another key player in the Bin Laden episode, Dr Shakil Afridi still languishes in a Pakistani jail. He was reportedly recruited by the CIA to run a fake polio vaccine operation to collect DNA samples to confirm the presence of the Al Qaeda chief in Abbottabad. It was his conclusive evidence that brought about Operation Neptune’s Spear. Dr Afridi was subsequently arrested, tried by a Pakistani tribal court and sentenced to 33 years in custody; reduced to 23 years in 2014. Significantly, he was not charged with working for a foreign intelligence agency but for being a member of militant group, Lashkar-e-Islam. The US has intermittently demanded his release. The most serious fallout from the Dr Afridi incident has been the negative impact on child immunisation in local communities.
Meanwhile, America’s longest war continues in Afghanistan; although some foreign forces egressed from Afghanistan on May Day while the remaining will return home by September 11 this year. Peace has not prevailed. Recently, the head of the US Central Command, General Keith F Mackenzie, expressed concern about the resurgence of Al Qaeda and ISIS in Afghanistan in the post-withdrawal scenario, noting that this remains a matter of concern not only for Pakistan but for the entire region.
Today, the US claims to have defeated Al Qaeda yet the international community’s pressure on Pakistan has not abated. It may be recalled that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an inter-governmental agency tasked with curbing money laundering and terrorist financing, first placed Pakistan on its grey list back in 2018. Next month will decide the country’s fate on this front.
For how much longer will Pakistan have to live under the shadow of Bin Laden’s ghost?
The writer, a retired Group Captain of the PAF, is a columnist, analyst and TV talk show host. He has authored multiple books on current affairs, particularly on China. He can be reached at [email protected]