Walker lawyers meet seminary head in Bannu

A religious school in the remote Bannu district of North West Frontier Province of Pakistan is drawing attention, as the defence counsels of the American Taliban, John Walker, carrying his letter met the head teacher of the madrasa on Friday to collect information to defend their client in a U.S. court.

Barry Simon and David Fisher, both U.S. nationals called on Mufti Iltimas, head of the Jamia Islamia Hassan-i-Kalan, the religious school where John Walker, who changed his name to Sulyman Faras after converting to Islam, studied religious courses during his six-month stay in Bannu.

"I am not happy with the way western journalists distort facts and attribute wrong remarks to people", Mufti Iltimas told reporters after meeting the American lawyers.

The lawyers brought a letter from Sulyman to Mufti Altimas requesting him to cooperate with his lawyers, sources informed.

The letter was in the name of Sulyman, rather than John Walker, the source said.

Walker decided to become Muslim and chose to study in Bannu after his meeting with Khizar Hayat of Bannu in California back in 1998.

Khizar Hayat was visiting the United States as part of the Tablighi Jamaat. Walker moved to Yemen and was enrolled at an Islamic school, but landed in Bannu by the end of year 2000 and became the favourite student of Jamia Islamia.

He was liked by the people of the small village, his fellow students and the teachers for his devotion and manners, Mufti Iltimas said.

Fighting in northern Afghanistan, he was arrested by U.S.-backed forces of the Northern Alliance in Kunduz, the last strong military hold of Taliban in northern Afghanistan and put in the Qala-e-Jangi Fort along with hundreds of other pro-Taliban foreign nationals.

He was the first American arrested in Afghanistan and faces charges of supporting the cause of terrorists and collaborating with them in conspiracies to kill Americans and harm U.S. interests.