Yesterday a 60 Minutes report and author Jon Krakauer both accused author Greg Mortenson of fabricating incidents in his memoir–spawning a lawsuit threat and “serious questions” about his work in Afghanistan.
In his memoirs, Mortenson alleged that Taliban members kidnapped him during his work. CNN interviewed Mansur Khan Mahsud, a Pakistani think tank director included in a photo from this alleged kidnapping.
Mahsud told reporters he planned to sue over Mortenson’s defamatory claims. Mahsud shared an unpublished photo of Mortenson with his “kidnappers;” in the photo Mortenson holds a firearm and does not appear to be in danger.
The Takeaway interviewed Afghanistan-based BBC reporter Bilal Sawary about the allegations. He added: “Mortenson’s organization says that he’s built at least ten schools [in an eastern region of Afghanistan]. Provincial authorities could only confirm two; the rest were built by the provincial reconstruction team of the United States of America–the army which is there or the Swedish committee. So there are very serious questions … over the ownership of some of these schools.”
Mortenson has defended himself and his organization, the Central Asia Institute, in an interview with Outside magazine. His publisher, Viking, plans to review his two books for accuracy. Follow this link to download a free copy of Krakauer’s 75-page expose until April 20th.