By Atia Abawi, NBC News Correspondent

KABUL, Afghanistan – How does the death of Osama bin Laden change the situation on the ground in Afghanistan?

Not much, by most accounts.

The Afghan Taliban had already announced their intention to increase fighting, as part of their annual spring offensive, before bin Laden was killed. They, unlike their brother group in Pakistan, had detached themselves from the al-Qaida leadership several years ago. 

And while some in the Pakistani Taliban have protested the death of bin Laden, the spokesman for the Afghan Taliban said that they won't comment on the death at least not until they have proof that he is dead.

There are varying viewpoints among NATO, the Afghan government and civilians about how the death of bin Laden affects Afghanistan, but the common denominator is the fact that Afghanistan is still in turmoil and fighting is expected to continue.

"Fighting here will likely not be impacted because the al-Qaida presence in Afghanistan is determined to be relatively low," one U.S. military official said to NBC News on the condition of anonymity.

He echoed what other U.S. officials would say only on background. 

In fact, it is estimated that there are only around 150 to 200 al-Qaida operators in Afghanistan, far less than what the U.S. forces faced when they first arrived in the country fall of 2001.  Today's insurgency in Afghanistan is comprised of various terrorist groups with different leaders and commanders – few of them still follow the orders of al-Qaida.

Wary eye on Pakistan
Afghan officials welcomed the news of bin Laden's death but have been cautious about claiming that this will be the ticket to victory in Afghanistan.

"Osama bin Laden dead can have lots of positive effects in Afghanistan, in the region and in the world in the future, but we shouldn't think that all al-Qaida has been destroyed after his death," Gen. Mohammad Zaher Azimi, the spokesman of the Afghan Defense Ministry said during a press conference Monday.

But Afghan officials made it clear Wednesday that they believe Pakistan’s spy agency should have known bin Laden was hiding not far from their capital.

"When we talk about the location of the house and a military academy nearby ... at the very least it should be known about the activities inside the house and who is living there," Azimi told the news conference.

"If Pakistan's spy agency was not aware of the house near the academy, it brings the agency under question. If I was a security analyst, I would raise these very important questions," he added.

Others expressed hope that the new development would change the way the U.S. government handles Pakistan. 

Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, an Afghan politician and former presidential candidate has said for years – like many Afghans – that Pakistan is the home of insurgent and terrorist leaders. And now he says bin Laden's death proves that.

"At least some people in the [Pakistani] establishment, the military intelligence establishment, should have known. He couldn't have survived that long without some sort of protection," Abdullah said.

He also hopes that the United States will open its eyes to the fact that Pakistan cannot be a reliable partner in securing Afghanistan and fighting the war on terror.

"When the United States – which has been bailing out Pakistan for many years now – they cannot trust them, how can we trust our national security interest with Pakistani establishments?" he added.

Psychological victory
And although the death of bin Laden may not change the continued battles in Afghanistan, it is still considered a massive psychological victory. 

Commanders have said that any side who truly believes they are winning will in the end win.

And for the past couple of years, the Afghan insurgency has felt they had the upper hand. They believed the United States would be just another superpower that would crumble in their hands.  Even bin Laden himself used to liken America to a paper tiger. 

The fact that the U.S. finally captured and killed Osama bin Laden proved that they still have the capabilities and power to achieve their goals.

So although bin Laden’s death may not have a big physical impact on the Afghan war, it may have a much needed psychological impact on U.S. and NATO forces who have been trying to turn the war around for years.