Located in the area of town known as Bilal Town, the now infamous walled three-story dwelling seems to more or less blend in with the other middle-class homes as revealed in the myriad satellite photos published in the aftermath of the events of May 1. The neighborhood is home to merchants, office workers, and more than a few refugees from Afghanistan.
There was even a garden growing within the walls of the compound. Reporters found cabbages and potatoes, along with other vegetables. There was one crop, however, that wasn’t exactly designed to be chopped and served on a salad.
According to a report filed by CNN's Nic Robertson, he found rows of marijuana growing among the other greenery. Not exactly a competitor to Pakistan’s huge cash crop of poppy, some speculate that the plant was used by Osama bin Laden to relieve the pain that comes from the various ailments from which he was believed to have suffered.
In light of the reports of a cache of pornography that was also discovered among bin Laden’s effects, the picture that emerges is one of a man who was not quite the zealous, Islamo-fascist the government of the United States formerly forwarded as the ultimate “enemy of the state” and “public enemy number one.”
Putting aside the questionable plants growing in the garden and the questionable choice of viewing material hidden inside the house, there’s something much more sinister about the house where Osama bin Laden allegedly met his demise.
An article published by India Today describes a feature of the house that deserves much more attention than marijuana or pornography.
Quoting another piece published in Toronto’s Globe and Mail, the paper reports:
Hizbul Mujahedeen, a militant group active in Kashmir, owned the mansion in the scenic town of Abbottabad where Osama bin Laden was killed by US forces, a Canadian newspaper has reported, claiming that Pakistan is hushing up the issue of the ownership of the compound.
There are indications emerging that the terror mastermind was sheltered by one of the militant groups that has enjoyed tolerance, if not support, from Pakistani military intelligence services, Globe and Mail reported.
The paper quoted a Pakistani police officer familiar with bin Laden's compound to say the house was used by Hizbul Mujahedeen. The group's chief Syed salahuddin is based in PoK capital Muzaffarabad.
Globalsecurity.org defines Hizbul Mujahideen thus:
Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) is one of the largest terrorist groups operating in Jammu and Kashmir and stands for the integration of J&K with Pakistan. Since its formation the HuM has also wanted the islamization of Kashmir.
The HM was formed in 1989 in the Kashmir Valley with Master Ahsan Dar as its chief. Dar was later arrested by security forces in mid-December 1993. It was reportedly formed as the militant wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) at the behest of the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan’s external intelligence agency, to counter the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), which had advocated complete independence of the State. Many of the early Hizb cadres were former JKLF members.
In June 1990, the HM ‘Constitution’ was approved and Mohammed Yusuf Shah, popularly known as Syed Salahuddin, was appointed Patron and Hilal Ahmed Mir as Amir (chief). Apparently, differences between JeI elements and the non-JeI faction started developing within the HM which led to a split with one faction being led by Salahuddin whereas the other was led by Hilal Ahmed Mir (killed in 1993).
Hizb-ul-Mjuahideen is headquartered at Muzaffarabad in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), and with an estimated cadre strength of at least 1500, is presently headed by Syed Salahuddin. The patron of HM in PoK is Ghulam Nabi Nausheri.
Compare this information with the more detailed accounts of the origins of Hizbul Mujahedeen and its sister organizations contained in Michel Chossudovsky’s report, 9/11 ANALYSIS: From Ronald Reagan and the Soviet-Afghan War to George W Bush and September 11, 2001, and the story of the former’s alleged ownership of the house where bin Laden was hiding takes on a different, darker aspect.
The account related in that report draws lines connecting Hizbul Mujahedeen (and several other supposed al-Qaeda affiliates) to the CIA. From the report:
These various "terrorist" organizations were created as a result of CIA support. They are not the product of religion. The project to establish "a pan-Islamic Caliphate" is part of a carefully devised intelligence operation.
CIA support to Al Qaeda was not in any way curtailed at the end of the Cold War. In fact quite the opposite. The earlier pattern of covert support took on a global thrust and became increasingly sophisticated.
The "Global War on Terrorism" is a complex and intricate intelligence construct. The covert support provided to "Islamic extremist groups" is part of an imperial agenda. It purports to weaken and eventually destroy secular and civilian governmental institutions, while also contributing to vilifying Islam. It is an instrument of colonization which seeks to undermine sovereign nation-states and transform countries into territories.
For the intelligence operation to be successful, however, the various Islamic organizations created and trained by the CIA must remain unaware of the role they are performing on the geopolitical chessboard, on behalf of Washington.
And:
The various fundamentalist and paramilitary groups involved in US sponsored "terrorist" activities are "intelligence assets". In the wake of 9/11, their designated function as "intelligence assets" is to perform their role as credible "enemies of America."
Under the Bush administration, the CIA continued to support (via Pakistan's ISI) several Pakistani based Islamic groups. The ISI is known to support Jamaat a-Islami, which is also present in South East Asia, Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, Jehad a-Kashmiri, Hizbul-Mujahidin and Jaish-e-Mohammed.
As expected, the government of Pakistan, including officials of the ISI are denying the reports of Hizbul Mujahedeen’s ownership of the bin Laden house in Abbottabad.
The official response is that there is no collusion between Pakistan, the Inter Services Intelligence, and terrorists. They are faithful to the party line that Pakistan is a committed ally in the “Global War on Terror” and has handed over all relevant information to the Americans since 2009.
Also, predictably, in the wake of the breaking of this story, government officials in Islamabad immediately sent out word to local Abbottobad law enforcement and land-registry clerks to keep silent regarding the ownership of the compound. As one police officer explained: "The place belonged to Hizbul Mujahedeen," the police officer said. "But the authorities have asked us not to share any information about the exact ownership."
While the connections are difficult to precisely define or reliably confirm because of their very nature and the climate of deception surrounding the alleged participants in the conspiracy, the fact that there is even a scintilla of credible evidence that our own government through the CIA may have been paying the rent on the home of Osama bin Laden calls into question the entire final hours scenario proffered by the White House, and the legitimacy of the War on Terror.
Photo: AP Images