Options after Abbottabad

By Radhavinod Raju

The tracking and killing of al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden by the Americans deep inside Pakistan is probably the most sensational counter terrorism operation of the century. That the Americans did not inform the Pakistan government before the event, or consider that their assistance was necessary though the operation was deep inside Pakistan, only goes to confirm the view in security circles the world over that they did not trust the Pakistanis with this sensitive strategic information. So much for their strategic partnership in the war on terror!

Over the last almost 10 years since the horrific events of 9/11, Pakistan has helped the Americans in the arrest of several top level al Qaeda operatives, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the operational commander of al Qaeda and mastermind of 9/11, in return for billions of dollars of assistance. Most of the high value arrests happened to take place when the relations between the two partners were at a low, giving an impression that the ISI knew the whereabouts of most wanted Qaeda operatives, and would take them out one by one when the situation demanded. With such a background, it would be difficult for the Pakistan government to convince anyone that they were unaware of the presence of Osama bin Laden in such a big mansion in Abbottabad surrounded by elaborate security, a stone’s throw away from important military establishments. The Americans are certainly going to investigate how bin Laden was able to live there, without phone or Internet, and was able to connect with his operatives without outside assistance. The house was reportedly built in 2005, so Osama bin Laden must have been living there for some years! During this period, he has recorded several speeches on audio cassettes which were broadcast all over the world. All this will now be investigated, and Pakistan, whatever its claims about protecting its ‘core interests’, will have a lot of explanation to do. One tactic the Pakistanis use is to employ retired ISI officers to attend to such tasks, which gives them scope to deny their involvement.

How does this operation impact on India? Can we undertake a similar operation in Pakistan to apprehend or eliminate a wanted terrorist? The Pakistan government have criticised the Americans for the unilateral action they took in eliminating Osama bin Laden without informing them or taking their prior permission. They have also said that this should not be taken as a precedent by the US or anyone else.

We have been giving the Pakistanis lists of wanted terrorists who are living in that country, without any positive response from them, due to the absence of a mutual legal assistance treaty between the two countries. We have also been asking for action against Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, chief of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, and patron of the Lashkar-e-Toiba, and his assistants who masterminded the Mumbai terror attacks or what we call our 26/11.

Usually Pakistan has been denying any direct role in the numerous terrorist attacks that their army of jihadis have unleashed on us in Kashmir and other parts of India. Had Ajmal Kasab died in the course of the terrorist attacks on 26/11 as per the script prepared by his handlers, Pakistan would have denied that the terrorists were Pakistanis. Among his various disclosures, Kasab has detailed the role played by Hafiz Saeed in the planning and preparation of the Mumbai 26/11 attacks. But then it is the statement of an accused in custody, and so not of much evidentiary value in a court of law. What professional investigators do is to look for independent corroboration of such disclosure statements, through further investigations, which in this case would not be possible without active cooperation of Pakistan. Lieutenant General Asad Durrani, a former ISI chief, while writing on WikiLeaks, called terrorism a technique of war, and therefore an instrument of policy for the state! How then will the Pakistan government cooperate with us in unravelling their policy of bleeding us through terrorism?

Hafiz Saeed is known to be close to the ISI and the Pakistani establishment. After the attack on the Indian Parliament, and the 26/11 attacks, under intense diplomatic pressure, he was placed under house arrest, only to be released weeks later citing lack of evidence. He is on record that they look at Kashmir as a gateway to attack all of India. He has threatened war against India for our alleged ‘water terrorism’ against Pakistan. He has threatened to fly the green flag over Delhi. He led the funeral prayers for Osama bin Laden in Lahore. The CIA is gunning for Anwar al-Awlaki, an American cleric currently based in Yemen and leading the Qaeda group there, for similar actions and statements against the US.

The LeT’s focus was mostly on India. But now they are seen as a global threat, with its activists picked up or convicted for planning attacks in Australia, Europe and the United States. During the Headley investigations, we were able to get a peep into the working of the ISI-LeT nexus, with Major Iqbal of the ISI, retired Major Abdul Rehman, a former ISI operative, and Let operatives working closely with Headley. We have also seen links of these operatives with Ilyas Kashmiri, chief of the 313 Brigade linked to al Qaeda, who has plans to attack India.

While an operation like the one mounted by the United States is beyond our capabilities, we should work with all countries to pressurise Pakistan’s army and the ISI to destroy the jihadi infrastructure, and to encourage Pakistan’s civil society and the civilian government to work for genuine peace and development. We should bring international pressure on Pakistan to ratify the SAARC Mutual Legal Assistance Convention which was signed in 2006, so that they are legally bound to render us assistance in investigation and prosecution of terrorism related cases. The National Investigation Agency of India and the Federal Investigation Agency of Pakistan should be encouraged to work together in sharing intelligence and provide assistance to each other in investigation of terrorist cases. These are actions that can and should be taken without delay.

(Radhavinod Raju is former director general, National Investigation Agency. E-mail: radhavinodraju@gmail.com)

New Indian Express

 06th May 2011