NOTE: This interview is from of the Afghan Ṭālibān and unedited below.
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Muharram 07, 1432 A.H, Tuesday, December 14, 2010
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.
Question: If you would be so gracious as to present a brief summary of your biography to the readers of al-Somood Magazine.
Answer: My name is Fadl Ahmed bin Abdul Samad from the village Khashak Nadi in the Kishim district of Badakhshan Province. I was born in the year 1384 AH in my village. I finished the early stage of my education in my village, and then I began to learn Shari’ah sciences, spending one year studying between my village and the district center at Kishim. I subsequently transferred abroad to Pakistan and spent eight years in different madrasas.
Upon the establishment of the Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan, I joined it, leaving my studies and working in various positions. When the madrasa “al-Jihad” was opened in Qandahar, I enrolled in it to finish my Shari’ah studies. After spending three years there, through the grace of Allah, I finished my studies and earned a graduation certificate.
Question: We would like you to present a brief picture of Badakhshan Province.
Answer: Badakhshan province is located in the northeast of Afghanistan. It is bounded by Tajikistan to the north. China is situated to the northeast and Pakistan to the southeast. Within Afghanistan, Takhar province borders it on the west, Nuristan and Panjshir to the southeast. The province has an area of 44, 059 square kilometers and a population of one and a half million people.
Badakhshan province has 27 districts: Tagab, Kishim, Tishkan, Darayim, Urgu, Mobarak, Jurm, Hamakan, Karan wa Manjan, Wakhan, Warduj, Shahada, Zeebak, Ishkashim, Shignan, Yaftali Sufla, Ragh, Raghstan, Bawan, Kuf, Mayama, Shiki, Nisi, Khawahan, Khash, Shahri Buzurg, Arghanj Khwah.
Question: What are the economic resources of the people of Badakhshan province?
Answer: The people of Badakhshan province are occupied in agriculture, grazing and raising livestock. After Allah Almighty they depend upon these resources for their livelihood. Because Badakhshan is far from the capital Kabul and surrounded by mountains it is poor in commercial means. The people of this province do not have a practiced hand in commerce.
Question: In what areas of Badakhshan are your Jihadist activities increasing?
Answer: As is well known, the people of Badakhshan sacrificed their blood and treasure during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and spared no effort in driving out Soviet forces. After the Western occupation of Afghanistan, they took part in the struggle and continued their Jihad and sacrifices. All areas of Badakhshan have plunged into this battle and continue their sacrifices. The districts of Kishim, Warduj, Baharak and Urgu are among the districts where the battle is intensifying and Jihadist capabilities are increasing. The Mujahideen have been able to win great victories there.
Question: What about the cooperation of the people of Badakhshan in these battles?
Answer: The position of the people of Badakhshan towards the occupiers and their tail-hangers is crystal clear: they are completely ready to fight them and they harbor a ferocious hatred towards the occupiers and their henchmen. Some, who had been misled about the truth of the occupiers and their henchmen, fell into the trap laid by those seeking after power. They were paying no mind to the Mujahideen, but through the grace of Allah and then the efforts of the officials of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, they came to fully comprehend the truth and became ardent supporters of the Mujahideen. Indeed they announced their complete readiness to cooperate with the Jihad, telling the Mujahideen that they will supply them with all that they need of food and other material and that the Mujahideen must fight the enemies of Religion.
Question: What are the steps you are taking to illuminate the minds of the people of Badakhshan and inform them of the goals of the Jihad in Afghanistan?
Answer: Informing the people of the goals of the Jihad in Afghanistan and educating them on this Path is the core of our Jihad. We must take positive steps on this course and, praise be to Allah, we have strived as much as we can in this Path. We have conducted dialogues with scholars and some people who enjoy a great amount of trust among the people of Badakhshan to remove the chain of lying claims which the Westerners and their henchmen were circulating. Through the grace of Allah Almighty, we were able to remove doubts about the Islamic Emirate which were stuck in the minds of the people. Their doubts have been erased and they have come to defend the Emirate and declare that they stand by it and will defend it.
Question: As you know, Badakhshan is located far away from the southern and central provinces. Do you encounter any problems in obtaining military resources?
Answer: No doubt we in Badakhshan province face some problems in this regard as compared with the rest of the provinces. The province is remote and the economic resources of the people are weak and the roads used for transporting weapons are not serviceable. With all those problems, the people of Badakhshan province know the goals which the Islamic Emirate is trying to achieve, and they have come to take care of the Mujahideen. Undoubtedly the solicitude they have shown has solved some of the problems from which we suffer.
Question: Since the launch of Operation al-Fatah until now, how many military operations have you conducted against the bases of the Crusaders and their henchmen?
Answer: The zealous Mujahideen of Badakhshan have conducted more than 28 military operations in different areas of Badakhshan. During these operations they have killed more than 25 Germans, destroyed tanks and a patrol car. More than 35 henchmen have been killed during these heroic operations which the Mujahideen conducted. I mention for example the al-Fatah operation in the districts of Khishim and Kuf.
There is no doubt that the operation in conquering the districts of Badakhshan is a difficult matter but, through the grace of Allah Almighty the Mujahideen have through their great zeal and sincere determination conducted these operations successfully and overcome all difficulties.
Question: It is said that foreign establishments under the name of “presenting services and assistance” spread Crusader ideology among the people of Badakhshan province. What is the truth of what is said about this despicable activity?
Answer: This is a given. The goal of the Westerners is to raise a generation of people working on their behalf in Afghanistan. They spare no effort in achieving this goal.
Yes, in Badakhshan, as you mentioned, there are charitable organizations in name that work in the cellars spreading their ideas among the people. Through the grace of Allah Almighty, however, the zealous people of Badakhshan monitor the activities of these suspicious organizations and do not allow them their desired resources. You may know about the Agha Khan foundation in the Baharak district which for years has conducted activity like this. The people of the district learned about this vile activity and, under the leadership of the Mujahideen and the scholars, conducted protests and took to the streets, burning the foundation to the ground and killing some of its employees. Two Mujahideen were martyred in these protests, may Allah accept them, and three were injured but in the end this foundation was ejected from the region. Similar foundations to this operate but through the grace of Allah Almighty, they have not been able to achieve anything meaningful.
Question: What is your message to the noble people of Badakhshan?
Answer: My message to the people of Badakhshan who believe in Allah and the Mujahideen in His Cause is: know that the infidels of all sects and creeds have gathered and united to strike the Muslim Ummah. They have attacked our homes and wish to achieve their vile goals by any means such as democratic rule or toppling the Islamic regime in our lands. We must understand all of this and place all of our differences to the side. For the sake of Allah and the message of Islam, in defense of our Islamic values and in defense of our Islamic lands, and to expel the Western occupiers and their henchmen, we must stand by the side of the Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate and cooperate with them, support them and revive the history of zealous forefathers and not be duped by the propaganda of those who seek status and worldly wealth.
Translated From The Islamic Emirate Of Afghanistan: Al-Somood Monthly Magazine# 51
Translated and submitted by a Mujahid