Mullah Zakir
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Abdul Qayyum "Zakir" (born 1973), also known by the
nom de guerre A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
Abdullah Ghulam Rasoul, is the current acting Deputy Minister of Defense of the
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
. He previously served as the acting Defense Minister, from 24 August 2021 to 7 September 2021. Zakir joined the Taliban movement in 1997 and took part in the
Afghan civil war War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) *Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see als ...
. He held the positions of deputy army commander, northern front commander and minister of defence for a short period during the first Taliban government of Afghanistan. Following the United States invasion of Afghanistan, Zakir surrendered to US forces and was interned in the US
Guantanamo Bay detention camp The Guantanamo Bay detention camp ( es, Centro de detención de la bahía de Guantánamo) is a United States military prison located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, also referred to as Guantánamo, GTMO, and Gitmo (), on the coast of Guant ...
in Cuba. He was transferred from US custody to Pul-e-Charkhi prison in Afghanistan, from where he was later released. After his release, Zakir rose through the ranks of the Taliban, running military operations in
Helmand Helmand (Pashto/Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering area. The province contains 13 ...
and
Nimroz Nimruz or Nimroz (Dari: ; Balochi: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the southwestern part of the country. It lies to the east of the Sistan and Baluchestan Province of Iran and north of Balochistan, Pakistan, also border ...
provinces before becoming the Taliban's overall military commander. During his tenure he was often described as one of the movement’s hardliners and was reported to maintain close links to Iran. In 2014, he stepped down, reportedly following an internal leadership dispute, then was appointed as a deputy to the military head in 2020.


Early life

Abdul Qayyum was born in the Kajaki District of Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan in 1973, and grew up in Jowzjan Province in northern Afghanistan. He is an ethnic Pashtun of the Alizai tribe. He studied at a religious school in Afghanistan before travelling to Pakistan, where he enrolled in a madrasa (religious school) in Quetta, Balochistan. The school was affiliated with an Afghan mujahideen group under the command of Mohammad Nabi Mohammadi that was fighting against the Soviets in Afghanistan.


Taliban activities and Guantanamo Bay internment

Mohammad Nabi Mohammadi instructed Qayyum and Nematullah to join the Taliban movement after it formed, and they joined it in Spin Boldak District in eastern Afghanistan. Qayyum joined in 1997. His nom de guerre on the Taliban's walkie-talkie network was "Zakir", and he became commonly known by that name. During the
Afghan civil war War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) *Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see als ...
, Nematullah was killed in a fight against Ismail Khan in Herat province and Zakir took command of his group. During the Taliban rule in Afghanistan, Zakir held the positions of deputy army commander, northern front commander and minister of defence for a short period. Zakir surrendered to United States-led forces in Mazar-i-Sharif in 2001 and was interned in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps in Cuba. His Guantanamo
Internment Serial Number An Internment Serial Number (ISN) is an identification number assigned to captives who come under control of the United States Department of Defense (DoD) during armed conflicts. History On March 3, 2006, in compliance with a court order from D ...
was 8. On March 4, 2010, Afghan intelligence officials said that the captive known as "Abdullah Ghulam Rasoul" was really "Abdul Qayyum", and that "Abdullah Ghulam Rasoul" had been his father's name. They reported his nom de guerre is "Qayyum Zakir". He was named "Abdullah Ghulam Rasoul" on most of the documents published by the US Department of Defense. He was named "
Mullah Mullah (; ) is an honorific title for Shia and Sunni Muslim clergy or a Muslim mosque leader. The term is also sometimes used for a person who has higher education in Islamic theology and sharia law. The title has also been used in some Miz ...
Y Abdhullah" on the Summary of Evidence memo prepared for his 2007 annual Administrative Review Board. Zakir was transferred from Guantanamo Bay to the American-renovated Block D of Pul-e-Charkhi prison in Afghanistan in December 2007. The Afghan government released him in May 2008, possibly due to pressure from tribal elders. Patrick Mercer, a member of the United Kingdom Parliament and its counter-terrorism subcommittee, expressed surprise that he had been allowed to rejoin the Taliban, wanting to know why he had been released. Peter M. Ryan, an American lawyer who represented another former captive who had been held in Pul-e-Charkhi, described the Afghan review procedure in Pul-e-Charkhi as "chaotic", and more influenced by tribal politics than by guilt or innocence.


Return to Taliban leadership

After his release, Zakir joined the Taliban and was appointed the leader of the Gerdi Jangal Regional Military Shura, a regional military command that oversaw operations in Helmand and
Nimroz Nimruz or Nimroz (Dari: ; Balochi: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the southwestern part of the country. It lies to the east of the Sistan and Baluchestan Province of Iran and north of Balochistan, Pakistan, also border ...
provinces. On March 9, 2009, the Department of Defense reported that he had emerged as a Taliban leader. British officials believed he became the Taliban's operations commander for southern Afghanistan soon after his release and blamed him for masterminding an increase in roadside attacks against British and American troops. He was living in Quetta and had command of the four southern provinces of Helmand, Kandahar, Uruzgan and Zabul, with the power to appoint Taliban governors there. '' The New York Times'' reported that Zakir led a December 2008-January 2009 delegation to the Pakistani Taliban to convince them to refocus their efforts away from the Pakistani government and towards the American-led forces in Afghanistan. Anand Gopal reported that Zakir helped write a Taliban "rule book" that sought to limit civilian casualties. In 2010, he was appointed as "surge commander" by the Taliban and was tasked with countering the surge of Coalition and Afghan forces and their strategy to deny the Taliban safe heavens in the southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar. On March 1, 2010, '' The News International'' reported that Zakir was part of the Taliban's
Quetta Shura The Leadership Council of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, also translated as the Supreme Council, () (also referred to as the Inner Shura) is the central governing body of the Taliban and Afghanistan. The Taliban uses a consensus decision-maki ...
, and that he had been arrested by Pakistani authorities in recent raids along with nine other leaders, the most senior of whom was Abdul Ghani Baradar. In addition to Baradar, the raids were reported to have captured
Mir Muhammad Mir Mohammad ( fa, مير محمد, also Romanized as Mīr Moḩammad and Mīr Muhammad; also known as Mīr Moḩammadī) is a village in Balaband Rural District, in the Central District of Fariman County, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran ...
, Abdul Salam,
Abdul Kabir Maulavi Mohammed Abdul Kabir is a senior member of the Taliban leadershipMohammad Hassan Akhund Mohammad Hasan Akhund (born or ) is an Afghan mullah, politician and Taliban leader who is currently the acting prime minister of Afghanistan. Akhund is one of the founding members of the Taliban and has been a senior leading member of th ...
, Abdul Rauf,
Ahmad Jan Akhundzada Maulvi Ahmed Jan (died 21 November 2013) was a former Taliban official who eventually became the Haqqani Network's chief spiritual adviser. Hailing from Ghazni province of Afghanistan, Ahmad Jan had also served the Taliban government of Mullah M ...
and
Muhammad Younis Muhammad Younis (born 4 November 1948) is a Pakistani former middle distance runner who competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics and in the 1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social a ...
. Zakir was released without explanation. On March 4, 2010, the Associated Press reported "two senior Afghan intelligence officials" claimed Abdullah Ghulam Rasoul had emerged to be a senior Taliban leader, and that he was under consideration to replace Abdul Ghani Baradar as number two in the Taliban's chain of command, following Baradar's arrest. He did take over as the chief military commander in 2010. '' The Wall Street Journal'' reported in April 2014 that Zakir had left the position of chief military commander. The Taleban leadership officially said that he stepped down due to "ill health". Some informants said that he was demoted, because of his strong opposition to peace talks with the Afghan Government and disagreements with more moderate leaders such as Akhtar Mansour. Zakir was succeeded by Ibrahim Sadar. After the death of Taliban founding leader Mohammad Omar was announced in 2015, Mansour was appointed supreme leader. Zakir and others boycotted the process that appointed Mansour. He preferred Mohammad Yaqoob, Omar's eldest son, for the position. After some delay Zakir pledged allegiance to Mansour. In May 2020, Yaqoob was appointed as the head of the military, replacing Sadar, with Zakir and Sadar appointed his deputies. In June 2020,
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...
described Zakir as an Iran-linked Taliban commander who opposed peace talks between the US, Afghan government and the Taliban. During the
2021 Taliban offensive A military offensive by the Taliban insurgent group and other allied militants led to the fall of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan based in Kabul and marked the end of the nearly 20-year-old War in Afghanistan, that had begun following the ...
, he was one of the commander of Taliban forces in southern part of Afghanistan and led the march towards Kabul. He was reportedly the first to enter the presidential palace upon Ashraf Ghani’s flight. After the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan on 15 August 2021, Zakir was appointed as the Taliban’s deputy minister of defense. On 21 August 2022, Zakir was appointed as the military commander of Panjshir province. Long War Journal notes that Zakir appointment to lead the fight against National Resistance Front (NRF) in Panjshir and the district of
Andarab Andarab is the name of a large stream in Afghanistan and of the valley it empties into. The stream which originates in the Hindu Kush, near Khawak Pass, and flows to the west for about 75 miles before merging into the Surkhab. Andarab valley T ...
is a clear indication that the NRF is challenging the Taliban’s primacy in central and northern Afghanistan.


References


External links


Who are 'the worst of the worst'?
Andy Worthington {{DEFAULTSORT:Zakir, Abdul Qayyum 1973 births Living people Year of birth uncertain Guantanamo detainees known to have been released Taliban leaders Pashtun people People from Helmand Province Taliban government ministers of Afghanistan Defence ministers of Afghanistan