Five months of Pakistani journalist in Jalalabad prison - VII
Faizullah Khan was detained by Afghan authorities in eastern Nangarhar province in April 2014.
Part - 7: (Intriguing account of a Pakistani journalist captured in Afghanistan for interview of Taliban leadership)
Read Part - 6 here: Five months of Pakistani journalist in Jalalabad prison – VI
Toor Kham’s journey was awfully beautiful. Beautiful landscapes spread on both sides of the paved road. Afghan army and police officials were patrolling in highly active manner in modern vehicles. Apparently it was all quite impressive.
There is also an American base on the Toor Kham Jalalabad road which has extremely tight security arrangements. After driving of atleast half an hour we went down from the car at the right hand side. Other passengers had also came out. After traveling a bit rough road, we approached a link route which went to Red Town Brigde.
As the checkpoint was coming closer, tension continues to grow on my face. I tried to calm myself.
The driver said to me, “This is a dangerous checkpost and arrests are made here every other day. I have no idea that whether the hosts have cleared the way or not.” The driver stopped the car and contacted someone after which we resume our journey. As the checkpoint was coming closer, tension continues to grow on my face. I tried to calm myself.
There was a speed-breaker near the checkpost on which the car slowed down. The officials standing there peeped inside the car. The driver immediately greeted them and said something in Persian. In reply the official laughed loudly and clapped. The car began to move again. The driver looked at me in an incredible way as if he had accomplished an expedition.
After crossing the checkpost we began to travel on the rough road. It was a mountainous area. The driver stopped the car after reaching at one point. “Now we will walk from here,” he said to me.
The other man took me a little forward where Ehsanullah Ehsan, sitting on a sheet near the riverside, was waiting for me.
After walking some mile I felt the noise of water. On reaching closer I saw that it was a river. Suddenly, two armed men appeared from the huddle of trees. The both had kalashnikovs.
They greeted us and inquired about our well-being. “Your man has been brought to you safely,” the driver said to them. One of the armed men gave the driver some money and thanked him. The other picked my bag and asked me to sit in the boat and also put their motor-cycle in it. The small boat began to shake. After 20 minutes a small motor-boat had reached the other end of the river.
An armed man was present there. Both the Talibans handed me over to him and went away on their motor-cycle. The other man took me a little forward where Ehsanullah Ehsan, sitting on a sheet near the riverside, was waiting for me.
Read the Urdu version here: Five months in Jalalabad prison
