On The Job With A Taliban Recruiter

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

http://www.jihadunspun.com/intheatre_internal.php?article=85027&list=/home.php&

Abdul Zahir's day starts with morning visits to a number of mosques in the Pakistani border area with Afghanistan, where the faithful gather for the first of their five daily prayer sessions. And once his morning session is over, he goes to some of the many madrassas (religious schools) in the area, or shows up at social gatherings, such as weddings, if there are any taking place.

Abdul is unflagging in his rounds because he has an almost missionary zeal: to find recruits for jihad - or holy war -waged by the Taliban in Afghanistan. Himself blinded in one eye from action in Afghanistan, Abdul tells prospective recruits: "You might fight at the front line, or you might stand guard at night. You can cook for other Islamic warriors, or you can be a male nurse. Or you can give the fighters money or grain - everything is welcome because the jihad has started."

On Abdul's most recent foray into Afghanistan he was accompanied by 14 youths from the remote Pakistani tribal areas in Killa Abdullah district in northern Balochistan province, whom he had rallied to the cause to fight against the "foreign invaders". Since his return he has another six lined up, all of whom are ready to cross the porous border. He took the last batch to a post in Zabul province, but he has no idea where the fresh recruits will go.

"I have already sent a message to Taliban commanders to seek instructions," Abdul says, "We will go wherever our services are needed." In recent months the Taliban have become more brazen and open in their operations, and they are known to be within relatively easy contact by wireless sets or by satellite phones. "The Taliban also have radios and regularly listens to the BBC's Pashtu service to keep themselves abreast of the situation in the Muslim world, especially in Iraq."
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Abdul says that he spent 40 days with his jihadis in Afghanistan, during which they had at least one major combat with an Afghan army patrol in the mountains of Zabul province. He then returned to Pakistan in mid-October "to regain some energy". "It is not easy to live in the mountains. You are at the verge of death every now and then. You survive only on plain bread, or at the most, yogurt milk," he says. "At the same time, you walk for miles every day on foot, it's very tiring."

Not that Abdul can put his feet up. He has been tasked to round up more youths, for the battle continues until "we completely flush out the Americans and their proteges from Afghanistan. The Americans have robbed us of our right to live and now we are using our right to die."
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Another ME perspective.