Mohammad Shehzad

Abdullah Mehsud, the commander of the Islamic militants who kidnapped two Chinese engineers in Pakistan's South Waziristan region, spent 25 months in custody at the US base in Guantanamo Bay before his release in March 2004.

As a young man, Mehsud, now 29, fought for the Taleban against the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan. He lost a leg in a landmine explosion a few days before the Taleban took Kabul in September 1996. He surrendered along with several thousand fighters to the forces of Uzbek warlord, Abdul Rashid Dostum, in December 2001 in Kunduz, northern Afghanistan, and was later turned over to the US military authorities.

Mehsud studied at a government college in Peshawar before attending a seminary where he befriended Afghan Taleban members and joined their movement.

Mehsud, whose real name is Noor Alam, is a Pashtun, the same ethnic group as the Taleban and belongs to the Mehsud tribe that inhabits South Waziristan on the Afghanistan border. His long hair and daredevil nature has made him a colorful character. Since his return from Guantanamo Bay, Mehsud has become a hero to anti-US fighters active in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. He was a comrade of another tribal militant commander, Nek Mohammad, who was killed by a Pakistani army missile in June. Mehsud sometimes 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.

Abdullah Mehsud contacted the author by sat-phone from an undisclosed location.

Question: The Government of Pakistan has asked you to surrender before January 27 or face dire consequences. What have you decided?

Surrender is out of question. I will never surrender and prefer to embrace martyrdom while fighting till the last drop of blood.

Question: Aren't you killing your own Muslim brothers! This is a great sin. How could you compare it with martyrdom?

They are not Muslims. Their deeds are not Islamic. They are the agents of the evil powers and America is their boss. Our enemy is America because it is the biggest terrorist on earth. It is massacring innocent Muslims in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Palestine. We have waged jihad against America. Now, if somebody - Muslim or non-Muslim - is with America in this jihad, he is the enemy of Islam. He is our enemy and we are bound to attack him. Musharraf and Pakistan army is the enemy of Islam. Both are the slaves of America and are massacring innocent people of South Waziristan at America's behest. In these circumstances, jihad is mandatory against Musharraf and the Pakistani army and we will continue to fight it.

Question: You are the killer of the Chinese engineers. They were innocent people. Islam does not allow the killing of innocent people.

I did not kill Chinese engineers. They were killed by the Pakistan army.

Question: It is a lame excuse. You kidnapped them and the army had to launch an operation to save their lives. Had you not kidnapped them, they would still be alive.

Had my demands been accepted, they would still be alive. You must have heard that all is fair in love and war!

Question: Why do you want to be another Nek Mohammad?

It is an honor to die like Nek Mohammad. He was a great mujahid. He has set an example for people like us. One should aspire to embrace martyrdom like Nek Mohammad. And remember one thing. Nek Mohammad was the name of a mission and cause i.e. fight against the tyrant and oppressor. When he received martyrdom, I replaced him. When I will receive martyrdom, someone else will replace me. Causes and missions don't die with the death of the people. We have waged jihad against oppression and we will continue it until we finish the oppressors.

Question: What do you want?

It is very simple. We are not terrorists. We are mujahideen. Don't label us as 'terrorists'. There is only one terrorist i.e. America. It should stop massacring our people in South Waziristan. It should stop massacring Muslims of Afghanistan. Like Nek Mohammad, I am also telling you that there are no foreign terrorists in the tribal areas. The army has failed to arrest a single foreign terrorist. It is killing its own innocent people to please America.

Question: Some newspapers wrote that you are an agent of America and it is using you to spoil China-Pak relations. And you kidnapped the Chinese engineers at the US behest.

It is absolutely false allegation. I am an 'agent' of Allah and I report to Amir ul Momineen Mullah Omar.

Question: What's the latest about Mullah Omar?

He is absolutely fine. He is holding meetings with several of his commanders at various locations in Afghanistan and planning a new strategy against America. You will soon be hearing about the new plans. I can assure you that the 2005 will be 'hell' for America.

Question: This is a 'stereotype' that we all hear...

It is not a 'stereotype'. Americans have failed to gain complete control of Afghanistan and our jihad is behind their failure. I can tell you that it will be very difficult for Karzai to hold parliamentary elections successfully. We will foil it the way we foiled the presidential election.

Question: Wasn't the presidential election very successful?

You seem to get influenced by reports from the western media.

Copyright ©2005 Mohammad Shehzad and Kashmir Images. About the author