Osama bin Laden, then the world’s most-wanted man, was taken out by an American special forces hit squad in the garrison town of Abbottabad. Much water has flowed under the bridge since the event, with the landscape of global religious militancy changing - considerably, while the state and society in Pakistan have yet to fully come to terms with the fact that Bin Laden was found in this country. At its height, Al Qaeda, the terrorist group Bin Laden founded, could strike far and wide, across continents, creating a major security headache for governments worldwide. However, in the years since the Abbottabad raid, Al Qaeda has become a shadow of its former _ self, overtaken by even more virulent actors such as the self-styled Islamic State group, which also appears to be in decline though is far from vanquished. pas The story of how Osama Bin Laden became a cult-like figure — in the world of religious militancy isa strange one. The scion of a large, incredibly wealthy Saudi family of Yemeni origin, Bin Laden shunned his father’s business interests and instead earned his stripes on the Cold War battlefields of Afghanistan, at the time working on the same team as his native Saudi Arabia and the US against the Soviets. However, his eventual transformation from an Afghan. Arab ‘mujahid’ to the mastermind of Al Qaeda helped usher in the era of transnational global jihadi outfits. After Al Qaeda’s violent exploits the world witnessed IS's reign of terror, until it was brought to heel, but not after leaving a trail of blood across Syria and Iraq. Bin Laden, therefore, has the dubious honour of being the prototype for Jlobalist jihadi groups, even though Al Qaeda may now be a largely Ee t force. His killing also throws up the uncomfortable truth that sre powers once used religiously inspired militants for geopolitical eee changed tack when geopolitics took a new turn, DOEDOSCS a een more uncomfortable questions i Seton ae in Pakistan remain eee Some answers eda the Abbottabad Commission report, which was leaked to the media but has never been officially released, much like many earlic commission report T ‘Twas a surreal, sobering moment. Ten years ago on this day, . jonal disasters. Because such reports ts probing national i Av 1 publicly released or discussed ina domecsate Manner, ee ‘and rumour-mongering end up cl : ‘state should release the Abb and i made can be acknowledged