From trainee suicide bomber to new life in Pakistan

Pakistani men who worked under the Taliban attending a class at the Mishal School army-run de-radicalisation centre ISLAMABAD - Young Hazarat Bilal says he feels lucky to be embarking on a new life after escaping the clutches of the Taliban in the pristine surroundings of Pakistan's Swat valley. Just over a year ago, he says he fled a Taliban prison in Chuprial, 40 kilometres (25 miles) northwest of Mingora, the district's main town. Today, he tells journalists invited to inspect an army programme to "de-radicalise" brainwashed youth, his hero is all-round cricketing star Shahid Afridi, and not Osama bin Laden. The 24-year-old is one of hundreds, potentially thousands of youths who were kidnapped or handed over by their families to train as suicide bombers or Taliban fighters in northwest Pakistan. "Shahid Afridi is the pride of our nation," Bilal told AFP at Mishal, one of three de-radicalisation centres in the Swat valley. "I wish he could visit me," said Bilal of the hard-hitting batsman -- nicknamed "boom-boom Afridi" for his towering sixes, but unceremoniously dumped as captain for criticising cricket management. Pakistan's military has had its back to the wall since American troops discovered and killed Al-Qaeda leader bin Laden within spitting distance of Pakistan's version of West Point. Full Story>>