Osama bin Laden. — File photo.
Osama bin Laden. — File photo.
With the Abbottabad Commission’s report finally out in the open (with the exception of page 197), there has been much analysis, and new speculation to determine goings-on on May 2, 2011 – the day the Osama bin Laden raid took place.

Firstly, the publication of the report took [far longer]3 that it should have. The report was not made available to the public during the previous government’s tenure, when it was completed in January this year. In addition, the report was never officially made available. It was leaked.

The general theme running through the report is that the failure of the state to intercept US encroachment into Pakistani territory, in order to carry out the raid, was the result of political, military, and intelligence incompetence and failure.

On the other hand, however, while institutions have been blamed across the board, there seems to be no fingers pointed out at any individuals involved in the entire debacle. Not one single person appears to have been held accountable.

At the same time, an alternative theory is that it wasn’t a matter of incompetence – rather, according to some observers, it was a matter of complicity. Many are convinced that there is no way the ‘Most Wanted Man in the World’ could escape unnoticed without someone knowing about it.

The Abbottabad report, however, has steered clear of this theory.

Many questions, therefore, are still unanswered in people’s heads. Should any individual be held accountable and made an example of? Was it a matter of ignorance, or connivance that bin Laden managed to live in Pakistan for so long? Has the Abbottabad Commission’s report been satisfactory for readers in terms of information dissemination? Have they not subsequently addressed any public concern over the US raid on that fateful night?

Dawn.com invites its readers to share their views.

Opinion

Editorial

Plugging the gap
06 May, 2024

Plugging the gap

IN Pakistan, bias begins at birth for the girl child as discriminatory norms, orthodox attitudes and poverty impede...
Terrains of dread
Updated 06 May, 2024

Terrains of dread

Restored faith in the police is unachievable without political commitment and interprovincial support.
Appointment rules
06 May, 2024

Appointment rules

IT appears that, despite years of wrangling over the issue, the country’s top legal minds remain unable to decide...
Hasty transition
Updated 05 May, 2024

Hasty transition

Ostensibly, the aim is to exert greater control over social media and to gain more power to crack down on activists, dissidents and journalists.
One small step…
05 May, 2024

One small step…

THERE is some good news for the nation from the heavens above. On Friday, Pakistan managed to dispatch a lunar...
Not out of the woods
05 May, 2024

Not out of the woods

PAKISTAN’S economic vitals might be showing some signs of improvement, but the country is not yet out of danger....