Subject: Re: Reward for Sam Sloan
Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2001 21:25:49 -0500
Dear Sam,
Asadullah here.
It will be easier if we both use our "American" names.
When living in the USA I work under CuChullaine O'Reilly. That is pronounced Ka-kul-lun.
Minutes after I emailed you I realized that you of course would wonder if I had kept the wanted poster.
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Actually, I wasn't even allowed to hold it.
The man who received the mail treated it like a precious document handed down from Genghis Khan, which what the District Commissioner of Chitral most closely resembles up in those parts.
After reading the information to me I thought he might post it on the wall of the "hotel" where I was staying. Yet he carefully folded it, and placed it back in the envelope.
Ironically, that all occurred in the late afternoon of the first day I arrived in Kafiristan.
Within 24 hours I was so sick that I was literally battling for my life. Consequently, my focus became staying alive, not exploring an obviously interesting story.
I was young then, but had already been in Afghanistan before the Reds took Kabul, and was deeply involved with the mujahadeen resistance. Yet I knew that I had never heard of anything like this before, and haven't since.
I count your story with Hunzagool one of the most intriguing modern stories to have occurred in the last 25 years in northern Pakistan. And without bragging, I think I've seen enough to be able to judge that statement truthfully.
So I am sorry to say that I don't have anything but a memory of the infamous wanted poster. However my Muslim blood brother, Noor Mohammad Khan, well remembers this story as well.
Like me, Noor has traveled through all the lesser known portions of both Pakistan and Afghanistan. I will ring him in a few minutes and get him to stir up his memory to see if I have overlooked any details. Maybe he heard something that I didn't, or have forgotten.
Yes, I am currently in the USA.
My wife, Basha, is Swiss.
We are both equestrian explorers, living in Kentucky for the time being, where we run the world's first equestrian exploration website and publishing company. You can visit our website at www.thelongridersguild.com
I am busy working - 9:22 p.m. Central time - but will ring Noor before 10, then email you again later tonight.
Later tonight I will email and ask him if he has ever come across your name.
OK, best for now.
CuChullaine
----- Original Message -----
Thank you so very much for your letter.
Yes. I am that person.
No I never knew that there was a wanted poster out for me.
Did you keep it? Do you still have it?
Where are you now? If you are in the USA, I would be happy to meet you.
Ismail Sloan
From: "Sam Sloan"
To: "CuChullaine O'Reilly"
Sent: Saturday, September 22, 2001 9:00 PM
Subject: Re: Reward for Sam Sloan
For more about this, see:
For more links, see:
For a photo of Najibullah, President of Afghanistan, hanging, see: Najibullah Hangs in Kabul