In the Soviet war in Afghanistan, he trained the Afghan mujahideen in mine warfare in Miranshah on behalf of Pakistan.[1] During the fighting he lost an eye and an index finger.[7][13] He continued his militant activities in Kashmir after the war as a member of Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI), though disagreements with leader Qari Saifullah Akhtar several years after initially joining in 1991 led Kashmiri to establish his own new unit within HuJI known as the 313 Brigade.[7][14]