Abdul Haq (Afghan leader)

For other uses, see the disambiguation page for Abdul Haq.

Abdul Haq (born Humayoun Arsala; April 23, 1958 - October 26, 2001) was an Afghan Pashtun mujahideen commander who fought against the Soviets and Afghan commmunists during the Soviet-Afghan War. He was executed by the Taliban in October 2001 while trying to create a popular uprising in Afghanistan in the wake of the September 11th attacks.

Early life

Haq was born in Fatehbad (Afghanistan), a small village in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, although he soon moved with his family to Helmand. His father, Mohammed Ana, was an official representative for the Nangarhar construction company in Helmand, and was relatively wealthy by Afghan standards. His family was well connected, part of the Arsala Khel family, which is a part of the Jabar Khel (a subtribe of the land-owning Ahmadzai tribe). His paternal great-grandfather, Wazir Arsala Khan, had once been the foreign minister of Afghanistan; a cousin, Hedayat Arsala, was a World Bank director working in Washington D.C. who later became Vice President of Afghanistan in Hamid Karzai's administration. Haq also had two older brothers: Din Mohammed and Abdul Qadir. From his own account, Haq was an unruly child, who after persuading his father to register him for school at the early age of five, once hit a teacher who was sleeping on the job. A year after that his 51 year old father died of kidney disease, prompting Din Mohammed to assume leadership of the family, and prompting the family to move back to their extended family in Nangarhar.

Back in Fatehbad, Haq began attending Koranic school under the tutelege of local mullahs, and once reaching the age of eight, began studying at the lycée. It was here where he started challenging the Communist ideology of some of his teachers.

Mujahideen years

Haq was born into the politically prominent Arsala family in Afghanistan, with ties to former King Zahir Shah. His brother Abdul Qadir was an early backer of Hamid Karzai, who was rewarded with a cabinet position, before he was assassinated in 2002. His other brother, Haji Din Muhammad, is the leader of the Khalis party.

Haq first engaged in the fight against communist domination of Afghanistan in 1977 when he fought in the Gulbuddin Hekmatyar faction of Hezb-i-Islami. He later switched to the faction led by Mohammad Yunus Khalis. During the Soviet war in Afghanistan, Haq coordinated mujahideen activities in the province of Kabul. He gained recognition for his tactical skills and bravery, and his reputation as a uniter led to leadership positions throughout Afghanistan.

The Guardian reported that Haq was injured twelve times, including the loss of part of one leg. Because of his injuries, he often fought battles against the Soviets from horse-back.

Post-war period

Haq was briefly a cabinet minister for internal security during the interim after the ouster of the communists, and the Taliban's assumption of power, but he left office because of internecine struggles and settled in Dubai, where he became a successful merchant.

In 1998 he became a United Nations Peace Mediator.

In January 1999, unknown assailants killed Haq's watchman, entered his home, and murdered his wife and son in Hayatabad. Another of Haq's sons survived the raid.

9/11 and execution

Following the al-Qaeda attacks of September 11, 2001 against the United States, Abdul Haq entered Afghanistan from Pakistan in an attempt to build support for resistance to the Taliban. Some sources have speculated that the CIA supported this initiative but family members have denied this claim. After a spectacular chase reminicent of a Hollywood scene, he was captured by the Taliban along with nineteen others between the towns of Hisarak and Azro, and was executed on October 26, 2001. The Guardian speculates that his capture was due to a betrayal by double agents. Some reports soon after his death blamed the CIA for siding too closely with Pakistan's ISI, which did not wish to see Afghans united across ethnic lines, and for failing to intervene to rescue him from his Taliban captors.

An obituary in The Guardian called Abdul Haq an "astute leader", and one of the few Afghans capable of working to bring together a working pan-ethnic loya jirga.

References

• Kaplan, Robert D. Soldiers of God: With the Mujahidin in Afghanistan. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1990. ISBN 0-395-52132-7
• Kurt Lohbeck.Holy War, Unholy Victory: Eyewitness to the CIA'S Secret War in Afghanistan.1993

Publishing dates should reflect current editions, as both of these books have publishing dates that occur before the events written about.

External links

• Abdul Haq Foundation
• Afghan Warrior: The Life and Death of Abdul Haq, BBC Four