Title:
Musharraf knows a lot more about Osama’s kidneys
Author:
Publication: The Times of
India
Date: Feb 1,2002
URL: http://www.timesofindia.com/articleshow.asp?art_Id=357423053
NEW DELHI: The US TV channel, CBS, has reported that Osama
bin Laden underwent dialysis at Rawalpindi military hospital on the eve of 9/11.
Though this report has been dismissed as an ‘‘Indian plot’’ by Pakistani
spokesman Rashid Qureshi, most Indians will be gratified to learn that their
government has so much of influence over the American media. Nevertheless, the
fact remains that Osama’s kidney condition might help unravel the mystery of
his whereabouts.
That Osama suffers from a kidney ailment and requires dialysis is a widely known
fact. Recently, General Musharraf is reported to have said that bin Laden must
be dead since he could not have had access to a dialysis machine during the US
bombing of Afghanistan.
After the bombing started on October 7, Al Jazeera broadcast a number of video
tapes of bin Laden. The last one, according to the Qatar-based TV channel, was
posted from Pakistan in December. From the above, it would appear that bin Laden
was alive for at least three months after 9/11 and must have been undergoing his
dialysis cycle. The Americans no doubt have information on the state of
hospitals in Kabul, Jalalabad and Kandhar and whether they were in a position to
carry out dialysis at a time when the bombing was intense and continuous. Given
the ease with which Taliban warlords have switched loyalty and escaped
punishment, most of the medical staff should have survived and would have
information on any dialysis carried out on Osama during those days.
Since the Rawalpindi military hospital carried out the September dialysis, it
should have full data on Osama’s dialysis cycle and the window of dates on
which he would be required to have further treatment. One hopes the Americans
have all those records by now. In any event, would it not have been rational for
Osama to have shifted to Pakistan to ensure his dialysis cycle once the American
bombing started? In those days, the Pakistan government insisted on keeping up
its diplomatic relations with the Taliban regime. During the last few weeks
before the last Al Jazeera tape was posted, eastern Afghanistan — including
the Tora Bora caves — was being heavily bombed.
The tape showed a pale and sick bin Laden. All these factors imply that the
dialysis proximate to the last Al jazeera tape of December was, in all
probability, carried out in Pakistan itself.
Now Musharraf says that bin Laden is likely to be dead for lack of access to a
dialysis machine. He would be far more credible if he gave a comprehensive
account of the treatment Osama received in Rawalpindi hospital and provided all
the information his administration has of his dialysis. The possibility of bin
Laden having been continuously in Pakistan cannot be ruled out.