Umer Shah’s hand Umer Shah was 34 years old when he was captured by the American forces in late June 2008. While he had been living in Abbottabad since 1975, according to his brother, Adnan, it was not unusual for Umer to be away from home for long stretches of time. Six months, however, was unusual and alarming. The family ran a business supplying construction material such as cement, steel and galvanized iron sheets, and it was Umer’s responsibility to travel to purchase stock from urban centers such as Lahore and Karachi. He often travelled for two to three days at a time, but when he went to Lahore, he would stay on for about forty days to be a part of the Tablighi Jamaat. During these times, it was normal for the family not to be in contact with Umer, but they knew of his general whereabouts and that he usually stayed with the tabligh in Raiwind, on the outskirts of Lahore. Adnan’s guess was that when Umer was in Lahore, he may have met some businessmen who told him to look into Afghanistan as a possible market for exporting construction materials. He may then have decided to venture out to Kabul; after all, in 2008, said Adnan, everyone was aware of the international presence and money pouring into the region. When Umer’s family received their first letter from him, they didn’t know he had written it. The handwriting was just so different – unrecognizable as his – they thought someone must be playing a joke on them. They had not heard from Umer in six months, and then one day received an envelope with a Bagram return address and American postage. Umer recalled being on a walk with six other people when they were bombed by a helicopter flying overhead. Two to three days later, he gained consciousness in a hospital in Khost, Afghanistan, and found out that his arm had been amputated. Later transported to Bagram, Umer began writing to this family with his left hand. For the duration of this detention, he managed to keep the amputation a secret from his family. During a video call, Adnan described how the family noticed that Umer was holding the phone with his left hand, and not as he normally would with his right. To them, it looked like he was unable to move his arm at all. But when they asked him what had happened, all he said was that there was some sort of problem. Sometimes he would say his arm had been tied behind his back. The family came to learn that prisoners were often tortured when they first arrived at Bagram, and so the difficulty Umer seemed to be trying to hide was likely from an injury inflicted on him. Back home, the family business saw a downturn with Umer’s abduction. Umer handled all business that required travel, and had the flexibility to shop around for good prices as well as bargain with sellers. Adnan managed onsite business operations, and with Umer disappeared, could only place orders over the phone, resulting in financial loss. Adnan also explained that it wasn’t widely known among the extended family and community that Umer was missing or in jail. Umer’s children – three daughters between the ages of four and nine, and one three-year-old son – believed their father had been gone for work for years. When he finally returned, Umer spent most of his time with his children, staying at home. Most people in the neighborhood continued to assume he had been away for travel as usual, and the family did not disillusion them. 42