Pakistan joins chorus but has a lot of explaining to do

PAKISTAN declared the killing of Osama bin Laden a “major setback” to global terrorism but it will inevitably come under pressure to explain how the al-Qaida leader was holed up in a mansion near a military facility in Abbottabad, a town less than two hours’ drive from the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.

“Osama bin Laden’s death illustrates the resolve of the international community, including Pakistan, to fight and eliminate terrorism,” the government said in a statement. “It constitutes a major setback to terrorist organisations around the world.”

However, it was not clear whether the Pakistan military was involved in the operation and there was no official comment from the government for several hours after the news of bin Laden’s death, raising the possibility that Islamabad had been taken by surprise.