Taliban Threatens to Blow Up Osama Residence in Abbotabad

By Aijaz Ahmed

Islamabad: The unusual house that Osama bin Laden used as his hideout just a stone’s throw from Pakistan’s premium Military Academy Kakul is said to be under serious threats, thus the authorities have beefed up security of the building and the adjacent locality, sources in the security forces have revealed.

The huge mansion has gained great interest since May 02, when US Navy SEALs conducted a limited operation killing Osama bin Laden without any significant resistance.

Ever since the operation, his residence became a place that attracts people in general and journalists and intelligence officials in Particular to visit. Intelligence people are visiting with full confidence and protocol and recovering letters and other evidence papers and items from the residence to be used in future, but unlike the spies, journalists were not fortunate enough as only few media men were allowed to enter the concrete building after few hours of the operation, but later the house was sealed.

Nobody even the foreign or the American journalists are being allowed to enter the house and witness the particles and items recovered from the building. Despite the ban on entering the house, the journalists were allowed till last week to approach the sealed gates, but the policy is turned overnight and nobody except the uniformed or plain clothed security officials are being allowed to go beyond 500 meters around the house.

Even renowned journalist and Waiting for Allah fame Christina Lamb was also stopped 500 meters away from the building and was sent back forcefully to Islamabad. Earlier three American journalists were captured and investigated for more than three hours, but it is not yet cleared that they have been released or are still in custody.

The security arrangements and reinforced and even foreign journalists are being interrogated in view of the latest threats by Tehrik e Taliban Pakistan. The TTP has recently threatened that it will blow up Osama’s residence, sources in the security forces revealed and added that the threat was given in view of the fact that the house has attracted wider debate in the global as well national media, thus becoming a source of trouble for the Al-Qaeda followers.

It is also revealed that the debate on the house and the details of ObL’s capture and murder and arrest of his family has had negative impacts on the ranks and files of Taliban and Al-Qaeda, and they also feared that the house may take a role of a tomb like of Hazrat Imam Hussain RA & other religious figures and this could be lethal for the Taliban philosophy as they do not believe in the tomb politics and such rituals, sources revealed.

It is to remind that the Pak army had already announced demolishing the house once the investigations are completed, but according to the sources that the decision may be changed due to certain ground realities. However any final decision may take some time as the investigators are recovering amazing facts and still need the structure to remain intact.

Sources also maintain that the house may not be demolished in near future as it may provide leads towards AL-Qaeda and other terrorist outfits, sources observed.