ISLAMABAD - Quiet amazement greeted the news of Osama bin Laden's death in the garrison town of Abbottabad close to the Pakistan Army's Kakul military academy.
How could bin Laden have hidden himself in such a heavily militarized and security-aware environment?
"Abbottabad was probably the best place, as it was least expected, and Abbottabad is a city of settlers, where every other house is of nonresidents," said military spokesman Brig. Azmat Ali.
South Asia analyst Brian Cloughley called it "absolutely amazing" that bin Laden was located "but a stone's throw from the [Pakistan Military Academy] and the Baloch Regimental Centre."
Cloughley declared himself "quite sure" that "no military person in Abbottabad knew he was there, if only because the word would have got out."
Zafar Nawaz Jaspal, an assistant international relations professor at Islamabad's Quaid-e-Azam University, said one could well question just how bin Laden had managed to hide there, but also noted that terrorists had been apprehended in Rawalpindi, an even larger garrison town that is home to the Army's General Headquarters. Abbottabad is relatively close to the tribal areas, he said, and has a major regional transportation artery running through it - and terrorists have been apprehended there in the past.
Bin Laden's death has domestic, regional and international implications for Pakistan, Jaspal said, which explains "very much why the government of Pakistan has been slow in acknowledging its coordination and cooperation with the United States" in the matter.
The primary consequences, he said, would be at home, where local terror groups affiliated with al-Qaida have already shown that Pakistan's cities and law enforcement agencies are a soft target.
Regionally, Jaspal said, India will try to use the circumstances of bin Laden's death in its "full-fledged campaign" to portray Pakistan as a "failed and terrorist state."
There would be more U.S. pressure now for Pakistan to deliver as an ally, he said, and the international community may question Pakistan's past assertions that terrorists were not hiding on Pakistani soil, but "the professionals" and intelligence communities understand that terrorist suspects are always mobile and hard to locate.
Pakistan's past record in apprehending chief terrorists such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in Rawalpindi showed its cooperation with the West in hunting down al-Qaida terrorists, Jaspal said, even those supported by "the anti-American lobby" or al-Qaida sympathizers.
He said he now expects the "Americans will ask the government of Pakistan to intensify" operations against the so-called Quetta Shura, the Taliban leadership in Pakistan. Jaspal said Washington also would try to force Pakistan to move against the Haqqani group in Pakistan's North Waziristan province.
Cloughley said he doubts that bin Laden's death will have a "negative impact" on any terrorist group, "simply because he did not have any planning or command function."
The hideout of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden is pictured after his death by U.S. Special Forces in a ground operation in Abbottabad, Pakistan, on May 2. (Farooq Naeem / AFP via Getty Images)
"Abbottabad was probably the best place, as it was least expected, and Abbottabad is a city of settlers, where every other house is of nonresidents," said military spokesman Brig. Azmat Ali.
South Asia analyst Brian Cloughley called it "absolutely amazing" that bin Laden was located "but a stone's throw from the [Pakistan Military Academy] and the Baloch Regimental Centre."
Cloughley declared himself "quite sure" that "no military person in Abbottabad knew he was there, if only because the word would have got out."
Zafar Nawaz Jaspal, an assistant international relations professor at Islamabad's Quaid-e-Azam University, said one could well question just how bin Laden had managed to hide there, but also noted that terrorists had been apprehended in Rawalpindi, an even larger garrison town that is home to the Army's General Headquarters. Abbottabad is relatively close to the tribal areas, he said, and has a major regional transportation artery running through it - and terrorists have been apprehended there in the past.
Bin Laden's death has domestic, regional and international implications for Pakistan, Jaspal said, which explains "very much why the government of Pakistan has been slow in acknowledging its coordination and cooperation with the United States" in the matter.
The primary consequences, he said, would be at home, where local terror groups affiliated with al-Qaida have already shown that Pakistan's cities and law enforcement agencies are a soft target.
Regionally, Jaspal said, India will try to use the circumstances of bin Laden's death in its "full-fledged campaign" to portray Pakistan as a "failed and terrorist state."
There would be more U.S. pressure now for Pakistan to deliver as an ally, he said, and the international community may question Pakistan's past assertions that terrorists were not hiding on Pakistani soil, but "the professionals" and intelligence communities understand that terrorist suspects are always mobile and hard to locate.
Pakistan's past record in apprehending chief terrorists such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in Rawalpindi showed its cooperation with the West in hunting down al-Qaida terrorists, Jaspal said, even those supported by "the anti-American lobby" or al-Qaida sympathizers.
He said he now expects the "Americans will ask the government of Pakistan to intensify" operations against the so-called Quetta Shura, the Taliban leadership in Pakistan. Jaspal said Washington also would try to force Pakistan to move against the Haqqani group in Pakistan's North Waziristan province.
Cloughley said he doubts that bin Laden's death will have a "negative impact" on any terrorist group, "simply because he did not have any planning or command function."
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