An exit from the mess

As expected, Pakistani authorities are now up against the wrath of the global community for - what the latter believes - either hiding the recently slain al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden on their soil for years or being too inept to figure out that the world’s most wanted man was under living under their nose all along.

An anti-Pakistan mood prevails in the US Congress with many American lawmakers believing that the operation in Abbottabad has exposed the treachery of the Pakistani government.

Further complicating the matter is CIA chief Leon Panetta’s statement that Pakistan was not included in the mission to kill bin Laden as US officials feared it could have jeopardised the operation by alerting the targets.

What puzzles the US lawmakers is the fact that the al Qaeda chief was living in a complex close to a major military academy in the city of Abbottabad - where the armed forces have a large share in the property.

There are questions over whether Americans should continue military and economic assistance to a nation, which might be abetting al Qaeda.

Pakistan, caught in the middle of all sorts of crises one can think of due to its own self-destructive policies, is in dire need of US assistance and is denying that it had any information about bin Laden’s whereabouts.

But to make matters worse for itself, it is allowing organisations including Jamaatud Dawa to openly mourn the death of the man, who was responsible for the deaths of so many people - more Muslims than the followers of any other religion perhaps. Jamaatud Dawa is supposed to be a banned outfit, but every now and then, it stages rallies in major cities including Karachi and Lahore, a proof that it enjoys the authorities’ free hand. Newspapers all around the world and websites carrying images of Jamaatud Dawa members shedding tears for bin Laden at a funeral in absentia in Karachi surely won’t help matters for Pakistan.

One ray of light for the country is that the Obama administration hasn’t used harsh words for it yet. In fact, it is saying that Pakistani cooperation is essential for the war on terror in the coming days. Perhaps that might provide Pakistan with an exit from the mess it is currently stuck in, but at the same time, it can expect a much greater amount of “do more” pressure headed its way.