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Mushahid Hussain claimed the CIA and Saudi Arabia gave ISI nearly $5 billion during the Afghan jihad to train one lakh Afghan Mujahideen and 20,000 Arab volunteers.
FILE – This April 1998 file photo, shows al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan.
Pakistan trained one lakh Afghan Mujahideen and 20,000 Arab volunteers, including Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, during the Afghan jihad with billions of dollars provided by the CIA and Saudi Arabia, senior Pakistani politician Mushahid Hussain Syed has claimed.
In a striking account of Pakistan’s role in the Afghan jihad, Hussain also claimed that once the war ended, the trained fighters became “jobless jihadis” and moved to other conflict zones, including Kashmir, Palestine and Algeria.
The Pakistani politician, journalist and former senator made the remarks during a recent appearance on KHANCASTa Pakistani digital talk show.
Hussain, who served as information minister during former Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif’s regime, linked Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) directly to the training programme and detailed the funding he said it received from the CIA.
CIA Gave $2.1 Billion To ISI For Training: Hussain
Tracing the programme to the Cold War and the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, Hussain said the Afghan jihad eventually became part of the wider confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union.
According to Hussain, the CIA then provided $2.1 billion to Pakistan’s ISI for training one lakh Afghan Mujahideen and 20,000 Arab volunteers.
At A Glance
Pakistan trained 100,000 Afghan Mujahideen and 20,000 Arab volunteers during the Afghan jihad.
The CIA provided $2.1 billion to Pakistan’s ISI for the training program.
Saudi Arabia provided an additional $2.1 billion in matching funds for the program.
Another $1 billion was subsequently provided, totaling around $5 billion used between 1979 and 1989.
Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri were among the Arab volunteers trained.
Among those Arab volunteers, he specifically named Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, who later went on to lead Al-Qaeda.
Saudi Matching Funds Took Total To Nearly $5 Billion
Hussain further claimed that Saudi Arabia provided matching funds of another $2.1 billion for the programme.
He said another $1 billion was subsequently provided, taking the total amount used in Afghanistan between 1979 and 1989 to around $5 billion.
‘They Became Jobless Jihadis’
Hussain then described what happened to these fighters once the Afghan jihad came to an end. “They became jobless jihadis,” he said. According to him, some subsequently went to Kashmir, while others headed to Palestine and Algeria.
Afghan Jihad Helped Pakistan Develop Nuclear Weapons: Hussain
Hussain also linked the Afghan jihad to Pakistan’s nuclear weapons programme, claiming that Islamabad’s role in the conflict helped it pursue its nuclear ambitions during the same period.
According to the former information minister, Pakistan’s strategic importance during the Afghan jihad gave it room to advance its nuclear weapons programme while the Cold War confrontation in Afghanistan was underway.
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Ask News18Senior Pakistani politician Mushahid Hussain Syed claimed that the ISI trained 100,000 Afghan Mujahideen and 20,000 Arab volunteers, including Al-Qaeda leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, during the Afghan jihad.
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Group Editor, Investigations and Security Affairs, Network18
September 25, 2026, 1:06 PM IST
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