Gulf News visits the former headquarters of Taliban leader Maulvi Faqir Mohammad in Bajaur, Pakistan, and tours the training grounds and caves that were used as safe houses and ammunition stores. See more at: http://gulfnews.com/gntv
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00:00Visiting the site of Taliban leader Maulvi Fakir Muhammad's headquarters at Damadola
00:10in Bajor was a strange experience.
00:14The reign of terror imposed by Fakir Muhammad prior to the military operation launched against
00:19his 10,000-strong Taliban force in 2008 may have ended, but the remnants of those times
00:25serve a strong reminder of what the people in this area experienced.
00:30Travelling on the road from Khar to Damadola, I passed the butchering site where many local
00:35security personnel had been ruthlessly murdered.
00:39Closer to his headquarters on the roadside is the infamous mountain where Fakir Muhammad
00:44held court to dispense justice.
00:47I was then taken to the area where he held his meetings.
00:50The shelled ruins bear witness to the heavy fighting that took place.
00:55As I made my way inside the Damadola caves that were used by the Taliban as safe houses
00:59and ammunition stores, I saw they had made proper rooms and carved out a number of passageways,
01:06leading to different exits throughout these hills.
01:10I climbed the path to the training ground, Abbas Markaz, which was used to train the
01:14Punjabi Taliban.
01:16There I saw the ruins of Fakir Muhammad's demolished house.
01:20I was also shown key points where the operation was taken forward and another training site
01:25of the Taliban from Fatah called Sir Faraz Markaz.
01:29I looked out to the site of Liaquat Madrasa where the first US drone strike killed 75
01:35children in 2006.
01:38It was the key motivator used by the Taliban to turn the local population against the state
01:43for its alliance with the United States in the war on terror.
01:49Many of the tribal elders had been killed by the Taliban.
01:52In a meeting with them, I heard stories of the time under Taliban rule.
02:19The FM radio that was used by Fakir Muhammad to spread the message of hatred is now being
02:35used by the government for peace.
02:37It is also an effective means of communication with the locals.
02:42As part of the plan to use this medium to get direct feedback from the people, talk
02:46shows are hosted regularly.
02:49It was encouraging to see many letters and artworks sent by young school children including
02:54girls in support of the radio shows.
02:58Many of these praise the current environment of peace and express desire to have more schools.
03:05Driving back through the nearby bazaar, I could not help but note how different things
03:09were now.
03:11It seemed that these communities have left behind an era of darkness and are now eager
03:15to shape a brighter future.
03:17Faryal Leghari, Gulf News.