Not paying property tax among others helped Osama hide

It was not just his plain luck but also planning that kept Osama bin Laden, the world's most wanted terrorist, undetected in Pakistan from the prying eyes of top intelligence sleuths and American satellites.

Following are some of the interesting compilations from the Abbottabad Commission report leaked by Al Jazeera news channel as to how world's dreaded terrorist planned his 10- year undetected stay in the garrison city of Pakistan.

1) Osama, whose Abbottabad abode was bought on fake documents, did not pay property taxes and flouted local building regulations.

 

The property was bought using a fake national ID card and the third floor was built illegally and the occupants did not pay taxes. The report says: "Either OBL was extremely fortunate to not run into anyone (committed) to doing his job honestly, or there was complete collapse of local governance.

2) Osama was fully aware of the need to hide from US spy satellites.

Much has been reported about the difficulty the CIA had in determining whether the tall man pacing around the compound was the al-Qaeda chief.

It now is clear that the difficulty was because Osama was in the habit of standing under a grape trellis. One of his wives, who survived the attack on the compound and was interviewed by the commission, revealed another technique: he wore a wide-brimmed cowboy hat when outside.

 

3) A traffic policeman in Swat could have ended the hunt for Osama in 2002 itself had he not "quickly settled the matter", when he pulled over a car for over-speeding, carrying a clean-shaved Osama.

4) Osama was a man of frugal tastes. Before coming to Abbottabad, he had just six pairs of Salwar Kameez.

5) Pakistan suffers from "governance implosion syndrome".