Rumors of Bin Laden: The Chitralis Speak

Amidst speculative reports in the international press about the possibility of Osama Bin Laden living somewhere in Chitral, under guise, Chitral News conducted a survey, soliciting the opinion of some fifty odd people from different walks of life, including intellectuals, officials and the man in the street, to find out what was their point of view on this news.

Interesting note from Chitral in light of the recent events and speculation regarding the impact and effects of the Waziristan Pact, from the Chitral News:

CHITRAL, 08 Sep, 06: Amidst speculative reports in the international press about the possibility of Osama Bin Laden living somewhere in Chitral, under guise, Chitral News conducted a survey, soliciting the opinion of  some fifty odd people from different walks of life, including intellectuals, officials and the man in the street, to find out what was their point of view on this news.

Invariably, everyone dismissed the speculation as rubbish and said it was a ridiculous assumption. A well placed person said that he believed such spam news are let off from time to time to divert the attention of the world from real problems and Chitral being a remote and God forsaken place (at least in winters) , nobody would take the trouble of physically verifying anything said about it.

One bystander said it was barely possible for the locals to survive the harsh winter weather due to lack of basic amenities, how can an Arab and that too an ailing man as reportedly Osama is (was), survive the weather in some remote place here.

Almost every one believed Osama Bin Laden was not alive and the US just wanted to use his name to scare the people, divert attention from its misdoings, and keep the doors ajar for any action it wants to take anywhere, on  this pretext.

I’m going to agree, he is more like to be in a walled farm estate on the far-northeast outskirts of Peshawar, or in Darkot or Gilgit than Chitral, that’s if he’s not already fled the country. (Sudan? Somalia?)

I also believe that the Taliban has pissed its bed in Pakistan/Waziristan and this could be the last stand. The trick isn’t to destroy the force, the trick is to pin the force until the winter closes passes to just a few so that the leaders, like Mullah Omer, can’t melt away.