Nine-Year Old Pakistani Osama leads normal life

Osama Mohammad, a Pakistani boy born only six months after the September 11 attacks masterminded by Osama bin Laden, says although he knows little about his namesake, his name still has its advantages.

SAIDU SHARIF, PAKISTAN  REUTERS - Nine-year-old Mohammad Osama from a village in Pakistan's Swat valley says he does not know much about his infamous namesake, Osama bin Laden, except that the latter spent most of his time "travelling here and there."

"He was in Afghanistan most of the time," says the bright-eyed child on the eve of the tenth anniversary of the attacks.

He was born exactly six months after the attacks were launched against the United States on September 11, 2001, orchestrated by bin Laden as head of the militant group al-Qaeda.

In October 2001, the United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan, where Bin Laden was believed to have been based at the time, in response to the September 11 attacks.Within days, Osama bin Laden became the western world's most wanted man and the poster boy for Islamist anti-Western militancy.

n the immediate aftermath of the September 11 attacks, 'Osama' became a highly popular name for newborn boys in Pakistan. But young Osama Mohammad's father, Razim Mohammad, says he did not name his son after the Saudi-born bin Laden, but rather gave his son an Arabic name in keeping with his family's Muslim tradition.

"We know nothing about this man (bin Laden) and his activities. We keep hearing all sorts of things about him. Some say he is in America; others say he is in Pakistan; still others say he is in Afghanistan. And now we are being told that they have killed him. We have absolutely no idea what has happened to him," he told Reuters Television in his house in Mingora.

By the time young Osama was born in the village of Saidu Sharif on March 11, 2002, 'Osama' had become a household name across the world. For many radical Muslims, bin Laden had become a mythical leader and the greatest opponent of what they perceived to be anti-Muslim Western forces.

Following the September 11 attacks, thousands of Pakistanis, carrying posters of bin Laden, demonstrated regularly throughout the country, chanting: "Osama we are with you!" T-shirts bearing his name sold like hotcakes in many parts of the country Pakistan.

Razim says his young son is a brilliant student who has won many prizes in extra-curricular activities, especially sports, at his school.

Osama says he that is because he is allowed to take part in all tough activities "because of my name."

"Nobody tells me I am like Osama, but they let me take part in all the games. They let me take part in all the difficult ones, because of my name," he said.

For the residents of the Swat area, an idyllic tourist haven 133 km (83 miles) northwest of Islamabad, the attacks were a harbinger of bad days to come.

In 2007, Taliban militants, expelled from neighbouring Afghanistan by U.S.-led forces, began extending their control in Swat, unleashing a wave of violence in the once-tranquil region.

In early 2009, armed Taliban insurgents seized control of the main town in the valley, sending thousands of residents fleeing following a blitz of whipping and publicly hanging people from street poles to enforce their harsh style of rule.

A military offensive to push out the Taliban insurgents from their stronghold brought further misery to the valley .

"Before September 11, Pashtuns were famous for their hospitality and their chivalry. But after this incident, we Pashtuns were dubbed as terrorists, and the situation in Swat particularly became very bad. Whether it is our hotel industry, our business or our other industries, after 9/11 everyhing has gone downhill," said Razim Mohammad.

Almost two years after Pakistan's army swept through the Swat Valley to drive out members of the Taliban regime, life has still not returned to normal for locals.

Hotels still house army troops. There is still no clear recovery plan for tourism and agriculture, Swat's two economic pillars devastated by the showdown between militants and security forces.

The valley's residents say the war on terror is far from over even after U.S. special forces killed bin Laden in May at his hideout, near the Pakistani capital Islamabad. Many still live under the fear that slow economic recovery in the area could undo military gains and allow a return of militants.

But these considerations do not worry the al Qaeda leader's young namesake in Swat.

Asked if he is ever teased about his name now that bin Laden is no longer alive and popular, Osama says everyone in his circle loves his name.

"My friends do not taunt me because of my name. They say I have a very nice name. They like my name because they are my very dear friends," he said.

A poll conducted by the Pew Research Centre in 2010 -- conducted in predominantly Muslim countries -- indicated very low support for the jihadist figurehead, much lower than the results of a similar survey in 2003.

The poll found that Pakistan had a fall in the numbers from 52 percent in 2005 to 18 percent in 2010 in the poll survey.