Read thiscarefully Raymond, so that you know why some think that 'no one' should be released from that 'infamous prison’. The reason these guys are there are beyond any doubt enough to cage them.. The war on people who like to behead humans like chickens cannot be fought with humanity hands tied back, moreover their mosaic of selection is so huge, and anyone can become an enemy as far as he is a human and has a neck to be severed!
Abdullah Mahsud — from Guantanamo to Waziristan
A daredevil militant with an artificial leg
By Rahimullah Yusufzai
PESHAWAR: Abdullah Mahsud, the commander of the Islamic militants who ordered the kidnapping of two Chinese engineers in South Waziristan tribal agency three days ago, spent 25 months in custody at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay before his release in March this year.
As a young man, the 29-year-old Mahsud fought on the side of the Taliban against the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan. He lost his left leg in a landmine explosion a few days before the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in September 1996. A landmine planted by the retreating forces of Afghan defence minister Ahmad Shah Masood blew up as he and other Taliban fighters drove into the Wreshmin Tangi gorge while marching on Kabul.
"I was injured two days before the top Taliban commander Mulla Borjan got killed in the battle for Kabul. A few days later on September 27, Kabul fell to the Taliban," he recalled in an interview on the phone with The News.
The young Mahsud was taken to Karachi for treatment. He got an artificial leg, but his urge to fight took him to Afghanistan again. Other Pakistani Taliban had also joined the Afghan Taliban, developing friendships that have proved durable.
Mahsud surrendered along with several thousand Taliban fighters to the forces of Uzbek warlord, Abdul Rasheed Dostum, in December 2001 in Kunduz, northern Afghanistan and was lodged in the notorious Shiberghan prison in Jauzjan province. Going back on his promise, Dostum turned over a few dozen Taliban, including Mahsud, to the US military authorities. He was subsequently transferred to the specially built US prison at the Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
Mahsud, who walks with an artificial leg, has received both religious and college education. He studied at the primary school in his village, Nano, in South Waziristan before shifting to Peshawar.
He did his D-Com from the Government Commerce College, Peshawar. He also attended a seminary, where he befriended Afghan Taliban and later joined their movement in Afghanistan.
Mahsud, whose real name is Noor Alam, is a Pashtun, and belongs to the Seemikhel branch of the Manzai Mahsud tribe. Since his return from Guantanamo Bay, Mahsud has become a hero to anti-US fighters active in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. He was one of the comrades of another tribal militant commander Nek Mohammad, who was killed by the Pakistani military in a missile strike near Wana in June. In fact, Mahsud entered the scene in March this year after his release from Guantanamo Bay. Around that time, the authorities had demolished the homes of Nek Mohammad and other wanted men as punishment for harbouring al-Qaeda and Taliban suspects. One soon started hearing stories about a young man with long tresses and artificial leg who had been a prisoner at Gauntanamo. We were told the tall and handsome man delivered long lectures to tribal elders sent by the government to negotiate with Nek Mohammad and his lieutenants and explained to them the blessings of "jihad".
Now a wanted man, Mahsud is often on the move. Sometimes, he rides a camel or horse while visiting his fighters in his mountainous abode. On other occasions, his men drive him in a vehicle and protect him round-the-clock.
Just like Nek Mohammad, he keeps long hair and has a daredevil nature. All this has made him a colourful and interesting character. Mahsud speaks Pashto, Urdu and Persian. In his own words, he also speaks "a little bit of English", which he picked up in captivity from American soldiers at Guantanamo Bay.
Mahsud said he led his fighters by example by taking risks and surviving in tough conditions. Criticizing US policies toward Muslims, he said the American occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan was a provocation for the followers of Islam and must be avenged. He said he didn’t want to fight the Pakistan Army but was constrained to resist the occupation of the semi-autonomous South Waziristan tribal region at the behest of the US.
Mahsud said he was opposed to the government of President General Pervez Musharraf as it was toeing US policies in the region.
Mahsud claimed he has three sets of fighters. "The Fidai squad undertakes dangerous missions, such as the kidnapping of the Chinese engineers. The Mujahid squad comprises ordinary fighters willing to die for our causes. And we have the Suicide squad whose members haven’t yet been unleashed," he explained.
When reminded that he was living a dangerous life after taking on the might of the Pakistani state and refusing to release the captured Pakistan Army soldier Mohammad Shaban and the two Chinese engineers, Mahsud remarked that he doesn’t fear death and had willingly taken this course. "There is no going back for me and my colleagues. We would fight America and its allies, which includes the Musharraf government, until the very end." |
