Graveyard or playground? Row erupts over Osama compound in Abbottabad

The cantonment board has erected a wall around the 3,800 square feet plot where the Al-Qaeda leader’s compound once stood in the garrison city of Abbottabad, and wants to convert it into a graveyard.

But the local provincial government, which was handed the land after Bin Laden was killed by US special forces, is trying to redevelop it as a playground.

“We have secured this place from encroachment by building a wall around it and now we will develop this into a graveyard because there is a serious issue of unavailability of graveyards in the area,” said Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, vice president of the Cantonment Board of Abbottabad (CBA).

READ MORE: Osama compound to be converted into a graveyard

However, Mushtaq Ghani from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government, opposed developing a cemetery in the built up area.

“The government wants to construct a playground there. If we get funds, we will turn that place into a playground this year,” Ghani said. “You can’t develop a cemetery in the middle of houses.”

Bhutto insisted CBA had the authority to push ahead with it plans. “We are going to meet the provincial government officials next week and will sort out this issue,” he said.

Elite US Navy Seals launched a helicopter raid on the highly fortified compound on May 2, 2011 and reportedly killed Osama Bin Laden. The building was demolished and the plot was left vacant by local authorities.