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Interview with Hamid Mir: Bin Laden Biographer
By Ayub Khan
23/10/2001
Hamid Mir, 36, is the editor of an Islamabad-based newspaper, the
Daily Ausaf. He started his journalism career 15 years ago and has won several awards, including the Best Columnist award from the All Pakistan Newspaper Society.
He has interviewed Osama bin Laden four times since1997 and has also written bin Laden's only official biography, to be published at the end of 2001. He was also the first person to receive a message from bin Laden after the attacks on the U.S. on September 11th denying his involvement.
In this exclusive interview with IslamOnline, Hamid Mir talks about a variety of issues including the future of Taliban, Pakistan and bin Laden:
IslamOnline: Do you think that the end of Taliban is near?
Hamid Mir: The end of Taliban is not near. I told BBC on 7th Oct that Taliban will not collapse easily. Three weeks are passed. Americans have failed to break Taliban. Taliban are moving their troops and weapons in the mountains. They are planning for guerilla war. They may lose some cities but they will continue their jihad. There will be no peace for Americans inside and out-side the Afghanistan.
IOL: How strong is the Taliban's support base in Afghanistan?
HM: The support for [the] Taliban in Afghanistan is increasing day by day. Blind use of military power by America is increasing the political power of [the] Taliban. No anti-Taliban leader can enter in Pashtun speaking areas.
IOL: How true are reports of large-scale defections from Taliban?
HM: Some of the Uzbek-speaking warlords defected in Northern Afghanistan. They were not Taliban, they were allies, but more people are defecting from Northern Alliance to Taliban.
IOL: Are there any rifts within Taliban leadership?
HM: There is no rift in Taliban. American and Pakistani intelligence agencies organized a grand meeting in Peshawar on October 21st to form a
jirga [traditional meeting of elders] with defected Taliban commanders. They were not able to break even a single Taliban commander and the meeting was postponed. There are rifts within Northern Alliance.
[Burhanuddin] Rabbani is against [Mohammed] Fahim, and Fahim is against Sayyaf.
IOL: What will happen in Afghanistan if Taliban are kicked out of power?
HM: There will be no peace in Afghanistan if Taliban lose power. Public is against America. You will see that superpower will be humiliated in Afghanistan.
IOL: How well do you know bin Laden?
HM: I know him from last four years. I met him twice, spend many days with him. He is not a scholar, he is a fighter. He wants to liberate Palestine. He wrote many poems against Israel. He is a
jihadi [warrior] poet. His poems will come out very soon. I always ask him difficult questions and he answers my questions with patience.
IOL: Do you think that bin Laden is behind the 9-11 attacks?
HM: I don't think a man living in [the] mountains, without any communication facilities inside America can manage such kind of big operation.
IOL: Why do you think that he is being considered as a hero in the Muslim world?
HM: Most of the people like him because people are against America. He is a hero by default. Many people don't share his ideology [because he praised the September 11th attacks], but they are supporting the enemy of their enemy, which is America.
IOL: Give us your personal impressions of bin Laden?
HM: He is a soft spoken, humble and simple man. He is very good in his behavior. He doesn't behave like a terrorist.
IOL: When are you going to publish your book on bin Laden?
HM: My book about Osama will be published in December 2001. This is a first book written after meeting him. It will be in English and
Urdu [official language of Pakistan].
IOL: What kind of a man is Mullah Omar?
HM: Mullah Omar is a real mujahid [fighter]. I think his stature is bigger than Osama. Osama takes orders from him. Osama became hero because of Omar. He is simple man who spent his most of time in mosque or on the battlefield. Mullah Omar is convinced that America is not after Osama, they are after Islam. Omar told me a year back that Osama came to Afghanistan in May 1996, Taliban captured Kabul in September 1996 and American Assistant Secretary Of State Mrs. Robin Raphel supported Taliban in November 1996. She was silent on Osama because America wanted to use Taliban against China and Iran, when Taliban refused, Americans created the issue of Osama bin laden.
IOL: How long can the Taliban survive the military attacks?
HM: Taliban will not be routed. They can easily fight for more than a year.
IOL: Does [Pakistani President Pervez] Musharraf have what it will take to contain the pro-Taliban constituency in Pakistan?
HM: Musharraf cannot control pro-Taliban feelings in Pakistan. He is playing with fire. He is pushing country towards civil war.
IOL: What do you make of charges by Western media which label the madrassas [religious schools] as breeding grounds of fanaticism?
HM: Pakistani madrassas are not involved in fanaticism. What about secular fanaticism. The girl students in France are not allowed to cover their heads with scarf because they are Muslims, but Christian nuns are not stopped to cover their heads. Now the English speaking class in Pakistan is becoming pro-Taliban.
IOL: What kind of a future do you expect for Taliban, Pakistan and bin Laden?
HM: They may be eliminated physically, but they will survive politically. Dead Osama will be more dangerous, thousands of new Osamas will born. The half of Pakistan will be converted into Taliban. One day Afghanistan will become symbol of pride for the Muslim
ummah [nation]. [U.S. President George W.] Bush used the word "crusade". This word came on his tongue because he hates Muslims. He has started crusade in Afghanistan, it will end up in America. His war is not against terror, this war is against error, and we can find out the error in the Middle East, in Kashmir and in Chechnya.
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