Osama bin Laden retreated behind closed doors, refusing to set foot even in the courtyard of his hideaway in the final weeks before he died because of a security lapse, found the official Pakistani report on the al-Qaeda leader.
An independent commission has spent the past year and a half questioning
military officers, bin Laden's wives and residents of Abbottabad.
The Daily Telegraph has learnt from a senior government official that no one
else in the town knew the world's most wanted man had taken up residence
there. It clears Pakistan's government and military establishment of
involvement, a verdict that will prompt accusations of a cover-up and
infuriate Western diplomats.
The investigation describes how the daughter of one of bin Laden's two
couriers, who lived with their families in separate buildings inside the
high-walled compound, saw the al-Qaeda leader as she climbed the stairs in
his private area for a Koran lesson with one of his wives.
According to the Pakistani source, she was oblivious to his identity until she
saw his picture on television some days later.
This prompted a hurried security conference inside the compound, which ended
with bin Laden giving up his exercise routine in a covered part of the
courtyard.
He was killed by a team of US Navy Seals in May last year at the age of 54.
His presence in the town of Abbottabad, barely 30 miles from the Pakistani capital Islamabad, was deeply embarrassing for the country's leaders.
In recent months it even emerged that bin Laden had fathered four children while on the run.
Critics in the US immediately accused Pakistani officials of knowing more about bin Laden's presence than they were letting on.
A senior government source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they would find few answers in the commission's report.
“At the end of the day it really doesn't tell us much more than we already knew,” he said.
“It's a disappointment for those who thought this episode might represent a turning point for Pakistan's relationship with extremist groups.”
He added that the investigation had spent more time considering infringements of Pakistan's sovereignty by the US Seals than probing how such a well-known fugitive evaded detection.
Christine Fair, a Pakistan watcher at Georgetown University, said that although leaders of the Inter-Services Intelligence agency may not have known about bin Laden's presence, someone among the country's retired generals, Military Intelligence or local police must have known something.
“If Pakistan had taken this breach of sovereignty seriously – by which I mean the head of al-Qaeda sitting in a cantonment so close to the capital - we should have seen a very vigorous investigation,” she said.
“This was a joke.”
The five-member judicial commission submitted its report to the government last week.
It is understood the report also concludes that stealth technology used by the US helicopters enabled them to enter Pakistani airspace without being detected.
His presence in the town of Abbottabad, barely 30 miles from the Pakistani capital Islamabad, was deeply embarrassing for the country's leaders.
In recent months it even emerged that bin Laden had fathered four children while on the run.
Critics in the US immediately accused Pakistani officials of knowing more about bin Laden's presence than they were letting on.
A senior government source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they would find few answers in the commission's report.
“At the end of the day it really doesn't tell us much more than we already knew,” he said.
“It's a disappointment for those who thought this episode might represent a turning point for Pakistan's relationship with extremist groups.”
He added that the investigation had spent more time considering infringements of Pakistan's sovereignty by the US Seals than probing how such a well-known fugitive evaded detection.
Christine Fair, a Pakistan watcher at Georgetown University, said that although leaders of the Inter-Services Intelligence agency may not have known about bin Laden's presence, someone among the country's retired generals, Military Intelligence or local police must have known something.
“If Pakistan had taken this breach of sovereignty seriously – by which I mean the head of al-Qaeda sitting in a cantonment so close to the capital - we should have seen a very vigorous investigation,” she said.
“This was a joke.”
The five-member judicial commission submitted its report to the government last week.
It is understood the report also concludes that stealth technology used by the US helicopters enabled them to enter Pakistani airspace without being detected.
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