by Salahuddin Khan

Created on: March 27, 2010   Last Updated: April 05, 2010

Chapter 7 - Stinger

THE MUJAHIDEEN GROUP HAD to wait an extra two days in Jamrud for the arrival of their first battery of Stingers. When they finally came, there were eight weapon rounds in which the missile and grip stock assembly were combined and four replacement missile rounds, each containing just a missile in its tube. This would give them a total of twelve distinct firing opportunities. The missiles had been flown into Peshawar and trucked over to Arif’s place which was where all five of the men were staying. Once again as before, Sikander managed to get a message across to his family in Hayatabad but was disappointed to be unable to hear back from them as Arif’s phone was out of action in Jamrud and they had no time to stay there before leaving for Laghar Juy.

The truck was a canvas roofed ten-ton troop carrier which in this case would be doubling as transportation to the Torkhum Road for Saleem, Sikander, Abdul Rahman, “Aamir” and “Yassir” as well as taking their complement of missiles. “No Pajero this time”, thought Sikander to himself, a thought made meaningful by the much more bumpy and noisy ride to the familiar home where they would be picking the mules. Another night’s stay at that place and they readied the eight mules to ferry everything back to Laghar Juy. Sikander was delighted to discover that Kala and Neela were both among them and staked his claim on Neela before anyone else. She had been a dependable and skilled animal on his first trip and Sikander even saw her behaving like she might have recognized him when she took a couple of steps in his direction as if to be laying a claim on him.

Trekking over the mountains was much more arduous on this occasion. The various missile crates while not exceptionally heavy, were bulky and awkwardly shaped. Each mule could handle one on each side, strapped lengthwise and that greatly limited their turning flexibility. On several occasions, the mules would lose their footing and struggle to remain on all fours but the more they traveled, the more impressed Sikander became with their hardiness, intelligence and above all else, loyalty.

The lost days in Jamrud meant that there was an urgency to their need to get back to Afghanistan and with the moon being full, it was decided that they should continue until well after dark before resting. As Sikander was crossing the mountains with his companions, this time with much more confidence, he couldn’t

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