Like numerous other ill-fated Afghans and Pakistanis, the horrors of the devastating and long Afghan war continue to haunt General Khan. Having lost his right leg in the war against the former Soviet Union, he is forced to beg in Swabi district headquarters in the Tehsil Topi market to make a living and feed his family.

Khan hails from Timergara in Lower Dir, which shares a border with the war-ravaged Afghanistan. Having marrying off his six daughters, the father of nine still has to support his aged wife and three young sons.

Afghanistan lies west of Lower Dir. The people of the district could easily cross the border, Durand Line, during the former Soviet Union’s occupation. Voluntary Muslim fighters from across the world were being encouraged in those days by the US to fight against the “godless” Russians in Afghanistan. In the end all the periphery countries suffered on account of the war and its aftermath.

Khan, 65, sits on the edge of a busy, artificial leg today. His crutches are a gruesome reminder of what he now calls a senseless war. Most passers by give him an uneasy look. Some stop for a moment to ask after him. Only a few want to know what caused his disability.

On first meeting General Khan, this scribe too had many questions. When he started recounting the horrors of war, the sheer agony on his face rendered all questions lose substance.

In a strained voice, he says, “In the harsh winters of 1982, during the regime of Gen Zia ul Haq, announcements were made in the village mosques by leaders of some religious parties and other powerful figures in the area that the Soviet Union, an infidel force, had attacked and occupied our brotherly Muslim country, Afghanistan. A war had to be fought against the Red Army. It was jihad - obligatory for every Muslim in such difficult circumstances. We must contribute, they told us, in every possible way.”

Voluntary Muslim fighters from all over the world, but especially Pakistan were assembled to fight the Soviet forces. Pakistanis were warned that the enemy forces in Afghanistan would try to break into Pakistan to gain access to warm waters to choke oil supply to the US and its allies. This would help them establish a stable footing in Afghanistan.

Voluntary Muslim fighters from all over the world, but especially Pakistan were assembled to fight the Soviet forces. Pakistanis were warned that the enemy forces in Afghanistan would try to break into Pakistan to gain access to warm waters to choke oil supply to the US and its allies. 

Khan, an illiterate young man, was persuaded like thousands of other Pakistanis who then crossed the Durand Line to join the Afghan mujahideen. “Soon after stepping into Afghanistan, I found myself in a caravan of guerrilla fighters who adopted various tactics to bleed the Russian forces. Frequently, Mujahideen forced the Soviet forces to retreat and captured ammunition. They were always preparing for another onslaught under a well-planned strategy,” he recalls.

They were provided ammunition to fight the mighty Russians. A Kalashnikov rifle, a Russian product, had been given to every fighter who participated in the guerrilla war. The days were spent devising plans and tactics to defeat the Red Army. The attacks were carried out mostly in the thick of the night. The assaults were planned in training camps and caves in the mountains. “We underwent rigorous initial training and were taught the tactics to fight a guerrilla war at night,” Khan says.

One night when the mujahideen moved to attack the Russian Army, Khan heard a massive explosion. He remembers little of what happened afterwards. “The Mujahideen said that it was an aerial attack, but it was later concluded that it was a mine explosion,” he says.

The Russians were beaten on the ground, but there was no way to counter the air force. Military helicopters were increasingly used to attack the mujahideen, Khan recalls. Later, President Ronald Reagan’s administration decided to provide Stinger missiles to the mujahideen. This proved a turning point in the war. However, when the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan, Washington devised a plan to collect the unused Stinger missiles by making a considerable payment. This was aimed at denying the US technology to other countries in the region, especially China.

Khan says, “I was unconscious after the explosion. I was carried by some colleagues. They first took me to a mujahideen facility in Afghanistan and later shifted me to Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, where I was treated for the wounds.”

“When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a hospital bed. I asking the people around me what had happened and where I was. They consoled me and said that I was in a hospital after be maimed in a mine explosion. Every one looked tense,” he says.

Only later did he realise that he had lost his right leg in the explosion. The future seemed bleak and he was shaken to his core. “I will never forget the moment when I learnt that I had lost my right leg,” he says. “The horror still haunts my poverty-stricken family.”

The writer is a KP-based freelance journalist. His areas of interest are South Asian affairs and Afghanistan