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His head wrapped in an Afghan scarf, Taliban commander Qari Nasrullah left only his eyes uncovered to avoid being ­identified by the many spy ­agencies hunting him.

In his Pashto tongue of the lawless tribal border between Pakistan’s north west frontier and ­Afghanistan, he told me chillingly: “I am told you can be trusted, but I warn you I must ask you not to break that trust and ­identify my face. I trust you when you say there will be no secret filming.”

A Pakistani military helicopter buzzed the remote building, rattling windows.

Nasrullah’s minders exchanging glances briefly, eyed me with ­suspicion as one of the region’s most feared men signalled for me to start our interview with him.

What followed was an invaluable insight into the twisted logic of an enemy mind.

And equally disturbing, was the fact this terror veteran is adamant the Taliban will once again rule Afghanistan with an iron fist and return to the dark days of days of strict Sharia rule once Nato troops quit.

I pressed the slim rebel about the terrible toll his comrades have inflicted on Nato troops since the US-led invasion of 2001.

A total of 3,274 coalition soldiers have died, including 444 Brits, 2,161 ­Americans and thousands of others left crippled and maimed in the war, sparked by the suicide attacks on the Twin Towers in New York.

With a blank stare, he replied coldly: “Regarding your soldiers’ death toll, when they travel that far to fight a war they are definitely not going to be presented with flowers and there will be deaths for sure.

“And if I say I am sorry for this just to make you happy… then that would be wrong.

"Thousands of our men have been martyred and as for your soldiers, we did not go after them to other countries.

"They came to our country and they have been torturing us and have sabotaged our government.”

Showing not a shred of remorse over the deaths, he added with a dismissive wave of the hand: “Anyway, this is what happens in war.”

Nasrullah also told how the Taliban vowed to again run ­Afghanistan after Nato leaves in 2015.

Worryingly for this battered country, I knew this meant a return to barbarity that includes public executions for ­infidelity, beheadings and punishment beatings for disobeying a twisted version of the Islamic law.

Nasrullah, who along with ­thousands of other Taliban has waged war against British and other Nato forces for more than a decade said: “In Afghanistan, praise be to God, we are heading towards success. We are approaching total success as most of the country is now under our control.

“Our fighters have had huge successes with many attacks.

“We will be victorious. Once foreign forces have been exiled we foresee success. God willing, when Nato leaves it will be as it was before… the Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan.”

Throughout our tense meeting at a secret location near Peshawar, Nasrullah’s aides called him “respected leader” - though he claimed he was a mere “Mujahid” or holy warrior.

But we were only too aware of the dangers posed by this man and his cohorts.

Initially Nasrullah greeted us ­nervously, stroking his thick beard. He wiped his forehead frequently – a sign of the Dengue Fever sweeping the area he is recovering from.

We asked him to reveal more of the area around his eyes. But he turned to his interpreter and said: “Tell these people I know it is possible to sketch the entire face from seeing the eyes.”

The conversation then turned to the subject of how his group treat women.

Under the strict laws the Taliban imposed before being toppled by the allies, females were banned them from working, wearing attractive clothing, taking a taxi without a close male ­relative or washing clothes in streams.

I told Nasrullah Nato’s International Security Assistance Force claims it has made great headway in opening Afghan schools and in freedom for women.

He shook his head and replied: ­“Whatever accomplishment they are claiming to their credit we cannot accept whatever system is outside Islam and the Koran.

"Even in the earlier days, when we were running Afghanistan, we had girls’ schools open but they were Islamic schools and they had boundaries.

"These girls’ schools were separate from boys’ schools. But the way Nato are allowing these schools to be run is not in an Islamic way so we do not support that.”

Days ago we flew into Pakistan’s capital Islamabad hoping to track down this Taliban chief, who used the pseudonym Qari Nasrullah for our interview.

We had wanted to find out what he believed would happen to Afghanistan after the Nato withdrawal.

Photographer Andrew Stenning and I were picked up early in the morning and driven for two hours to a compound outside Peshawar where we met him. Over the past 10 years I have travelled to Afghanistan on many assignments.

While on patrols we have come under fire from Taliban ambushes. It is possible Nasrullah could have been one of those fighters.

I have always wanted to interview one of these fanatics who are prepared to die for their cause.

Having met Hamas strongmen in Gaza, ­Lebanon’s Hezbollah gunmen and Iraqi insurgents I am surprised at how restrained Nasrullah is.

We met against a backdrop of failed peace talks between ­Afghanistan, the US and the Taliban which collapsed this year after security was handed to the Afghan National Army.

That put getting a Taliban interview at a premium because they were now refusing to talk even to governments.

So I started discreetly getting in touch with ­security contacts and learned it was possible we could get to meet Nasrullah if we went via Pakistan.

I was told it would take place under two conditions – that we guarantee not to identify him facially and we try our best to avoid being followed by the authorities.

And it was stressed breaking either of these rules could cost lives.

It was groups made up of fanatics like Nasrullah who were toppled after 9/11 and then regrouped in 2005, particularly in the south east of the country and Helmand Province.

The British responded by storming the region. A bitter war erupted as more Taliban fighters swarmed in.

The fighters were further enraged when more than 50 countries then sent forces to support the allies in their quest.

But as our troops prepare to leave, the Mirror understands injuries and deaths among the Afghan National Army are rising as the Taliban has been ­reinvigorated by news of the pullout.

And although British troops have been withdrawn to base, sources told us they are still suffering blast wounds from Taliban missiles.

Nasrullah has fought with the Taliban for many years and is a respected member of its “provincial Shura” - or council network for Kunar Province, north east Afghanistan.

From his base in Bajaur, just over the border, he recruits fighters and smuggles wounded rebels into Pakistan.

As our interview draws to a close, Nasrullah, now undisguised without his scarf, ordered his man to tell me something.

The translator told me: “My friend. He is calling you to Islam. He is inviting you to become Muslim.”