Abdul Satar Ahmedi's father was a druggist in Bulola. When the Soviet army invaded, Satar's father proudly gave him an antique Enfield rifle, the same rifle that Satar's great-grandfather had used in the war against the British generations before. Satar's father was trapped in Bulola when a Soviet garrison occupied the city. He lost a leg to a Soviet mine. Although a devout Muslim and nationalist, Satar's father did not have the same burning faith his son had developed during his time with the Mujahideen.