'stealth' technology

Although the CIA explicitly asked Pakistan not to give access to the previously unknown "stealth" helicopter that crashed during the raid in Abbottabad killing al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in May, there have been reports in the media that the Pakistani intelligence services ignored the request.

A senior Pakistani security official has denied these reports and pointed out that the wreckage had been handed back to US officials shortly after the raid.

"It's just speculation. It's all false. The wreckage was handed back. There is no helicopter left (in Pakistan)," the official told AFP on Monday.

During the raid, one of two modified Blackhawk helicopters, believed to employ unknown stealth capability to elude radar, malfunctioned and crashed, forcing the commandos to abandon it.

The allegations first surfaced in May but were then ignored in the light of other questions that seemed more crucial, such as, why did the ISI not know that bin Laden was living right in the middle of the garrison town of Abbottabad.

Former Pakistani general Talad Massood says it is "inexcusable" that the ISI did not know, whether this was "deliberate or complete ignorance."

'Pressure from all sides'

The latest speculation will not help matters or allay US suspicion, which was already at a low before the raid on bin Laden’s hideout. The ISI was not told about the operation in advance.

Massood says that the world's judgment and the pressure from all sides after the raid have now put Pakistan even more on the defensive.

Moreover, it has not helped allay criticism that Islamabad is not doing enough against al Qaeda and Taliban extremists.

As former ISI general Javed Alam points out, the intelligence services had to have contact with the Taliban after 2001 as a lot of them were inside Pakistan. "Wisdom tells us that we have to maintain contact with everybody," he says.

Difficult task ahead

However, this contact has never been openly acknowledged and Islamabad often makes a big noise about military operations against extremists in the northwestern areas along the border with Afghanistan.

Security expert Mohammed Amir Rana doubts whether the army can really do this efficiently. "There are over 100 militant organizations operating in the ungoverned spaces - in the tribal areas, south Punjab and Baluchistan." He says they have their support bases in urban centers and that they prefer to hide in Pakistan because of the "favorable conditions."

To make US-Pakistani relations even worse, Islamabad is accused of cozying up to Beijing. This is not that surprising considering the US has cut its aid to Islamabad and drone attacks are claiming more and more civilian lives. Bilateral trade between the two countries now totals almost 10 billion US dollars, and China is one of the biggest suppliers of arms to Pakistan.

Author: Jürgen Webermann / act
Editor: Manasi Gopalakrishnan