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| India-Pakistan | |
| Muslim KhanÂ’s brutal turn | |
| 2011-05-25 | |
| After years in Boston, Pakistani rose to prominence in Taliban SWAT VALLEY, Pakistan — He lived the anonymous life of an illegal immigrant in Boston, sharing a Brighton three-decker with his countrymen from Pakistan. He painted homes in the morning and pumped gas in the afternoon. He earned a reputation for being reliable, industrious, and polite. But after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Muslim Khan returned home and traded in that invisible existence for a certain kind of fame. With a mastery of English learned in Boston, a festering rage against perceived injustice, and thousands of dollars saved from years abroad, Khan helped bankroll militants’ brutal takeover of his home area of Swat Valley. He helped orchestrate some of the Pakistani Taliban’s most vicious attacks and became a top spokesman for the insur gent movement. Two years ago, Pakistan’s military — under heavy pressure from the United States — took back the valley, scoring its most important victory in its war against extremists and putting Kahn, now 60, out of action and into custody. But fear of a Taliban return still grips this place. And disbelief still grips the Swati community in Boston, which is trying to come to terms with what Khan did. “He was just a regular guy, working 24/7,’’ recalled Mohammad Khan, who owns a pizza parlor in Newton. “He slept here and he ate here and he made money here. How could he go back and say America is no good?’’
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