Osama bin Laden death one year on: demolition man gets death threats

“My wife feels scared and whenever I come home late she thinks that
either I have been killed or kidnapped.

“But I believe that whatever I did was in the national interest. We
conveyed a message to the world by demolishing this compound that we are
against terrorism, which harmed our province and the country.”

He hoped to make a profit on material recovered from the site but said he lost
money despite taking away 12 tons of scrap metal from the buildings.

Shakeel Ahmad Yusufzai with Osama bin Laden bath (AFP/Getty Images)

Conspiracy theories about what “really” happened to bin Laden are
rife in Pakistan, and many in Abbottabad are not convinced he was ever
there. Even Mr Yusufzai is prepared to accept the doubts.

“I am not sure whether bin Laden actually lived there but my feeling
after seeing the building and its design was that it might have hosted him,”
he said.

Six dumper trucks were needed to clear the building scrap from the bin Laden
house, Yusufzai said, and now the salvageable material is held in a
storeroom in a girls’ hostel at a local college.

Two bathtubs were stacked in the storeroom along with dozens of bricks, floor
tiles, water pipes and cables. An Arab-style black and white scarf lay on
the floor.

Twelve months ago the air of Abbottabad rang with the deafening sound of
gunfire and explosions as two Black Hawk helicopters full of US Navy SEALs
stormed the house in the dead of night.

Now there is birdsong at the site and the sound of boys playing cricket.

A smooth patch of concrete, once part of the foundations of the buildings
which hid bin Laden, his three wives and their 10 children, now makes a
perfect pitch for young cricketers.

The boys say they know little about the 9/11 mastermind who lived there, but
they are clear about what should happen to the site.

“Everybody in this area wants this place to become a playground. We like
playing cricket here and we want the government to build a playground,”
said 12-year-old Jamal-ud-Din.

Source: AFP

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