QOTD: What Saleed Shahzad wrote..

Some quotes from this review of the late Saleem Shahzads book inside Al Qaeda and the Taliban: Beyond Bin Laden and 9/11 by Khaled Ahmad.

'There were at least 600,000 youths there since 1979. At least 100,000 Pakistanis were active members or different Jihadi cadres. Over 1 million students were enrolled in various Islamic seminaries, and there were several hundred thousand supporters of Pakistan's Islamic religious parties. The main handler of the Afghan Jihad against the Soviets had been Pakistan's army, which itself was not immune to the influence of radicalism. Several army officers had pledged their allegiance (bait) to different Jihadi spiritual leaders, including Maulana Akram Awan of Chakwal. These groups were known in the Pakistan Army as pir bhai groups.    pg 9

and this one...

'Major Haroon Ashiq hung up his boots right after 9/11. On his release from service, he joined LeT. One of my unit officers Major Abdul Rahman also followed suit. I joined the outfit soon after, without caring for the consequences' (p. 83).

Finally

For Captain Khurram faith came before country. While on a UN mission in Sierra Leone he clearly demonstrated it: 'Khurram built a mosque and a Madrassa in Sierra Leone, despite the opposition of his commander, Brigadier Ahmad Shuja Pasha, later chief of the ISI' (p. 85). Both brothers had joined the LeT, but had soon 'realised that the LET was just an extension of Pakistan's armed forces' (p. 86).

Christine Fair Vs the deep state

Amidst the craziness that has hit the world following the killing of Osama Bin Laden: you do get some gems. In the above case we have Christine Fair in a Al Jazeera debate with Omar Waraich and Shiraz Maher. Midway through she challenges the Pakistani deep state narrative that goes like this " Osama was a creation of the US, the USA has historically left Pakistan high and dry again and again and as a result Pakistan has to defend its interests (meaning influence over Afghanistan and some form of parity with India)"
Her take down of Shiraz Maher ( ex HT activist turned Conservative leaning analyst) at around half way in is more of an extension of her long running challenge of conventional wisdom in Pakistan ( she did however get a small fact wrong, Libbi was picked up in Mardan and not Mansehra).

A side point I wonder if the death of OBL will lead to the end of the short cut route to becoming a opinion maker ..that is ex Islamist selling their story to the media and becoming an expert?