Offence is the best way to defence. This is what Pakistan has decided to do after coming under heavy international criticism for its failure to track the Al Qaeda Chief,Osama Bil Laden,who was hiding very close to the capital Islamabad.
The Abbatabad mansion, where Osama has been living for the last five years, is just 800 meters away from the military headquarter,
“We have intelligence failure of the rest of the world including the United States,” PM Yousuf Raza Gilani said.
Talking to reporters during a visit to Paris on Wednesday, Mr Gilani said: “There is intelligence failure of the whole world, not Pakistan alone.”
He reiterated that the war against terror is not only Pakistan’s war it’s war of the whole world.
We are fighting and paying a heavy price, and fighting not only for Pakistan but for the peace, prosperity and progress of the whole world”,Gilani countered when the reporters repeatedly asked him about Pakistan’s failure to locate the terror mastermind.
Other ministers in Pakistan too are trying to counter the mounting condemnation of the Islamic Republic for providing a safe sanctuary to terrorist groups.
Reacting to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) chief Leon Panetta’s remark in Time magazine that the operation against Laden would not have been successful had we informed Pakistan in advance, Pakistan Foreign Secretary,Salman Bashir said that such remark is “disquieting” and his country is playing “pivotal role” in countering terrorism.
Earlier in an interview to the Time magazine has said that “It was decided that any effort to work with the Pakistanis could jeopardise the mission. They might alert the targets.”
However the battle line within and outside Pakistan is being drawn with the Europe and US Lawmakers questioning the credential of the South Asian country to fight terror and demanding that the aid to Islamic Republic should be curtailed.
On the other hand about 70 lawyers took out a rally in Abbottabad on Wednesday, chanting anti-US slogans and shouting slogans in favour of Bin Laden and calling him a “hero”.