'I thought there would be a bit of pain, then I would be in Heaven': Maimed Pakistani boy, 14, tells of failed suicide bomb bid



A Pakistani teenager has told how he was brainwashed by the Taliban into becoming a suicide bomber because he believed he would go to paradise.

Umar Fidai, 14, and another schoolboy were behind the attack on a Pakistani shrine earlier this month in which scores were killed and many others injured.



Fidai survived because his bomb vest failed to detonate properly, although he has lost an arm and could yet lose his life because of his injuries.



Now in custody, he admits he made a terrible mistake and begs forgiveness for his deadly mission - for which his family have now disowned him.

Umar Fidai lying on the ground shortly after his failed suicide bomb bid outside a shrine in Pakistan earlier this month

He told the BBC he trained with the Taliban for five months, learning how to shoot, use a grenade and ultimately to be a suicide bomber.



He was told he would go Afghanistan to kill 'non-believers' but in fact the pair were taken to another part of Pakistan and ordered to blow up the shrine.



Umar told the BBC: 'The plan was that Ismail would blow himself up near the shrine, then I would wait and blow myself up near the ambulances when they came.'

He said he had no doubts at all about killing himself: 'All I was thinking was that I had to detonate myself near as many people as possible.



'When I decided it was the right time, it was a moment of happiness for me. I thought that there would be a little bit of pain, but then I would be in Heaven.'

Badly injured victims lie in an ambulance after the attack. The plan had been for Umar's accomplice to blow himself up and then for Umar to detonate his bomb as people were taken to ambulances

Even when the jacket failed, Umar continued to try and bring about more carnage - reaching for a grenade in his pocket.



'We had been taught that if the belt does not go off, we should kill ourselves with the grenade.



'There were three policemen standing close by, and I thought if I killed them too, I would still make it to Heaven.'



As he attempted to pull out the pin, he was shot in the arm by police. He says when doctors and officers then tried to help him, he realised he had made a dreadful mistake.

Umar lost an arm and his stomach was blown open as a result of the bombing. He says he now realises he did 'a very bad thing' and that suicide bombing is un-Islamic

Umar was persuaded to train with the Taliban by dogged recruiters who waited for likely young boys as they went to school.



The children were told studying was pointless and that killing 'infidels' would be a route to paradise.



'The Taliban prayed all the time and read the Koran, so I thought they were good people. My heart told me to go and train with them,' he said.



He admits he now 'did a very bad thing' and has realised suicide bombing is un-Islamic. The boy has not heard from his family since the blast.



He is still seriously ill and is worried the Taliban might come to kill him because he failed to complete his mission.

