ABBOTTABAD, Pakistan — The killing of Osama bin Laden by US forces at a
palatial villa near the capital raised fresh questions Monday over Pakistan's
loyalties in the war against Al-Qaeda.
For years, Western officials believed that the world's most wanted man, with a $25 million price on his head, was hiding in some of the most impenetrable terrain on earth, in Pakistan's semi-autonomous northwest tribal belt.
But instead of lurking in a remote cave -- out of reach of intelligence on the ground -- bin Laden was found in relative luxury less than two hours' drive from Islamabad in a town where Pakistan trains some of its finest officers.
An AFP reporter at the scene said the imposing house appears to be a three-storey building surrounded by towering perimeter walls, located in a middle-class neighbourhood of Abbottabad.
"Abbottabad is a garrison city and located near a Pakistani military academy, and people will raise questions how they managed to get there," said Rahimullah Yusufzai, a prominent expert on militancy.
Pakistan and the United States said the operation was conducted by US forces, and although Pakistani military were out in force in Abbottabad on Monday one official said they were only mobilised after the raid.
A senior US administration official said the United States did not notify Pakistani allies about the operation, citing the chief reason as the need to maintain complete secrecy around the covert operation.
For four hours after US President Barack Obama announced that bin Laden was dead, Pakistan's government and military leaders remained silent, before issuing a carefully worded statement from the foreign ministry.
It stopped short of confirming outright that Pakistan had not been informed ahead of the US ground operation -- what Islamabad has repeatedly called a red line -- nor how far Pakistan may have cooperated in the raid.
Analysts are already warning that Pakistan is likely to be exposed to a fresh wave of revenge Islamist militant attacks from Al-Qaeda-linked groups already opposed to the government's alliance with the United States.
Asked by AFP about the extent to which Pakistan cooperated in the operation, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said only: "I don't know the details, I don't know minute details, but in short we have intelligence cooperation".
Pakistani-US intelligence cooperation nosedived this year after a CIA contractor was detained for killing two Pakistanis in broad daylight, and US officials have rounded on Pakistan's alleged double dealing with militants.
Only two weeks ago, Admiral Mike Mullen, the highest ranking officer in the United States armed forces visited Pakistan and accused the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency of having ties with terrorists.
Online publication Stratfor Global Intelligence asked how long Pakistan was aware bin Laden was there and whether the United States withheld the information until the hit was executed, fearing it would be compromised.
Just 30 miles (50 kilometres) from the nerve centre of the government, the leafy town of Abbottabad is a popular day-trip for Western expatriates and Pakistan's elite escaping into the hills away from the searing heat of summer.
Nestled in pine-dotted hills and originally built by the British during colonial rule, Abbottabad is a city of one million people and home to the elite Pakistan Military Academy.
Yusufzai told AFP that bin Laden's death was likely to raise pressure on Pakistan and that his killing, when Pakistani leaders had long said he was already dead, was an embarrassment.
"It may increase pressure on Islamabad over fears that his number two and other senior Al-Qaeda leaders may also be hiding here," said the expert.
The town was named after its British founder, Major James Abbott, and its architecture reflects its colonial past with European-style bungalows, a club, church and cemetery.
But like much of Pakistan the area was becoming increasingly associated with Islamist militants and madrassas have sprung up in Abbottabad and neighbouring districts. The religious schools are alleged breeding grounds for militants.
In March, Indonesian militant Umar Patek, a suspected mastermind of 2002 Bali attacks which killed 202 people, was arrested by intelligence agents at a house in Abbottabad.
Patek, who had a $1 million bounty on his head, was the alleged field coordinator for the Bali nightclub attacks, which placed mainly Muslim Indonesia on the front lines of the global battle against Islamic militancy.
Pakistani-administered Kashmir, where the government for years sponsored training camps for militants equipped to fight against old-foe India, is just 35 kilometers (20 miles) to the east.
For years, Western officials believed that the world's most wanted man, with a $25 million price on his head, was hiding in some of the most impenetrable terrain on earth, in Pakistan's semi-autonomous northwest tribal belt.
But instead of lurking in a remote cave -- out of reach of intelligence on the ground -- bin Laden was found in relative luxury less than two hours' drive from Islamabad in a town where Pakistan trains some of its finest officers.
An AFP reporter at the scene said the imposing house appears to be a three-storey building surrounded by towering perimeter walls, located in a middle-class neighbourhood of Abbottabad.
"Abbottabad is a garrison city and located near a Pakistani military academy, and people will raise questions how they managed to get there," said Rahimullah Yusufzai, a prominent expert on militancy.
Pakistan and the United States said the operation was conducted by US forces, and although Pakistani military were out in force in Abbottabad on Monday one official said they were only mobilised after the raid.
A senior US administration official said the United States did not notify Pakistani allies about the operation, citing the chief reason as the need to maintain complete secrecy around the covert operation.
For four hours after US President Barack Obama announced that bin Laden was dead, Pakistan's government and military leaders remained silent, before issuing a carefully worded statement from the foreign ministry.
It stopped short of confirming outright that Pakistan had not been informed ahead of the US ground operation -- what Islamabad has repeatedly called a red line -- nor how far Pakistan may have cooperated in the raid.
Analysts are already warning that Pakistan is likely to be exposed to a fresh wave of revenge Islamist militant attacks from Al-Qaeda-linked groups already opposed to the government's alliance with the United States.
Asked by AFP about the extent to which Pakistan cooperated in the operation, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said only: "I don't know the details, I don't know minute details, but in short we have intelligence cooperation".
Pakistani-US intelligence cooperation nosedived this year after a CIA contractor was detained for killing two Pakistanis in broad daylight, and US officials have rounded on Pakistan's alleged double dealing with militants.
Only two weeks ago, Admiral Mike Mullen, the highest ranking officer in the United States armed forces visited Pakistan and accused the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency of having ties with terrorists.
Online publication Stratfor Global Intelligence asked how long Pakistan was aware bin Laden was there and whether the United States withheld the information until the hit was executed, fearing it would be compromised.
Just 30 miles (50 kilometres) from the nerve centre of the government, the leafy town of Abbottabad is a popular day-trip for Western expatriates and Pakistan's elite escaping into the hills away from the searing heat of summer.
Nestled in pine-dotted hills and originally built by the British during colonial rule, Abbottabad is a city of one million people and home to the elite Pakistan Military Academy.
Yusufzai told AFP that bin Laden's death was likely to raise pressure on Pakistan and that his killing, when Pakistani leaders had long said he was already dead, was an embarrassment.
"It may increase pressure on Islamabad over fears that his number two and other senior Al-Qaeda leaders may also be hiding here," said the expert.
The town was named after its British founder, Major James Abbott, and its architecture reflects its colonial past with European-style bungalows, a club, church and cemetery.
But like much of Pakistan the area was becoming increasingly associated with Islamist militants and madrassas have sprung up in Abbottabad and neighbouring districts. The religious schools are alleged breeding grounds for militants.
In March, Indonesian militant Umar Patek, a suspected mastermind of 2002 Bali attacks which killed 202 people, was arrested by intelligence agents at a house in Abbottabad.
Patek, who had a $1 million bounty on his head, was the alleged field coordinator for the Bali nightclub attacks, which placed mainly Muslim Indonesia on the front lines of the global battle against Islamic militancy.
Pakistani-administered Kashmir, where the government for years sponsored training camps for militants equipped to fight against old-foe India, is just 35 kilometers (20 miles) to the east.
