Jawad was studying at a sixth or seventh-grade level at a school which United States agents later described as "Jihadi".[11][12] Several years later, he was approached by four or six men at Qari Mosque in his hometown. They asked if he would be willing to take a lucrative job in Kabul, Afghanistan where the government intended to remove landmines.[13] He was promised 12,000 Pakistani rupees to help clear Soviet-era mines from the region.[11]