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Abdul Ghani Baradar

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Abdul Ghani Baradar
Nickname(s)Mullah Baradar
AllegianceAfghanistan Taliban
RankOne of the major leaders
Battles/warsSoviet war in Afghanistan
Civil war in Afghanistan (1996–2001)
War on Terrorism:

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar (Dari/Pashto: عبدالغنی برادر; born c. 1968),[1] also called Mullah Baradar Akhund, is a co-founder of the Taliban movement in Afghanistan [2] and an Afghan Taliban leader. The deputy of Mullah Mohammed Omar and captured leader of the Quetta Shura, Baradar was largely seen as the de facto leader of the Taliban as of 2009.[3] He was captured by U.S. and Pakistani forces in Pakistan on February 8, 2010, in a morning raid.[4]

Early life and Taliban career

Born in Weetmak village, Deh Rahwod District, Orūzgān Province,[1] Baradar is a Durrani Pashtun (Pathan) of the Popalzai tribe.[5] Baradar fought with the Afghan mujahideen during the Soviet-Afghan War[6] and afterwards operated a madrassa in Maiwand, Kandahar Province alongside his former commander, Mohammad Omar (the two may be brothers-in-law via marriage to two sisters).[3] In 1994 he helped Omar found the Taliban.[7]

During Taliban rule (1996–2001), Baradar held a variety of posts. He was reportedly governor of Herat and Nimruz Province,[8][9] and/or the Corps Commander for western Afghanistan.[3] An unclassified U.S. State Department document lists him as the former Deputy Chief of Army Staff and Commander of Central Army Corps, Kabul[10] while Interpol states that he was the Taliban's Deputy Minister of Defense.[1]

War in Afghanistan

Main article: War in Afghanistan (2001–present)

Following the September 11, 2001, attacks, the United States invaded Afghanistan and deposed the Taliban with the help of Afghan forces. Baradar fought against the U.S.-supported Northern Alliance and, according to Newsweek, "hopped on a motorcycle and drove his old friend [Omar] to safety in the mountains" in November 2001 as Taliban defenses were crumbling.[3] One story holds that a U.S.-linked Afghan force actually seized Baradar and other Taliban figures sometime that month, but Pakistani intelligence secured their release.[11] Another story reported by Dutch journalist Bette Dam contends that Baradar actually saved Hamid Karzai's life when the latter had entered Afghanistan to build an anti-Taliban force.[12]

Whatever the case, a new Afghan government to replace the Taliban was organized in accordance with the December 2001 Bonn Agreement; Hamid Karzai served as interim leader and later President of Afghanistan. Baradar now found himself fighting international forces and the newly formed Afghan government. Many fellow Taliban commanders were killed over the years following the initial invasion, including Baradar's rival Mullah Dadullah, killed in Helmand in 2007. Baradar eventually rose to lead the Quetta Shura and became the de facto leader of the Taliban, directing the insurgency from Pakistan. Temperament-wise he has been described as acting as "an old-fashioned Pashtun tribal head" and a consensus builder.[3] Despite his military activities, Baradar was reportedly behind several attempts to begin peace talks, specifically in 2004 and 2009.[3]

Capture in February 2010

U.S. account

On February 8, 2010, he was captured in a joint raid by the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in either Baldia Town, Karachi, Pakistan,[13] or at the Madarassa Khuddamul Quran (45 km NE of Karachi) during a morning raid.[4][14] The White House took 3 days to confirm the capture.[15][16]

CNN quoted U.S. officials who said the capture could represent a "turning point" in the struggle with the Taliban.[14] The presence of Taliban in Karachi is not unprecedented; previous reports have indicated that the city hosts a sizable network of Taliban militants, serves as a major source of funds, and may even be the location of Mullah Omar.[17]

Taliban account

One Taliban commander confirmed his capture to the press, though claiming that Baradar had instead been captured in Helmand during Operation Moshtarak.[18] Another Taliban leader denied that he was in custody.[19]

Pakistani account

Pakistan confirmed on February 17, 2010, that a Taliban suspect captured earlier in February is Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar. A military spokesman said the delay in confirmation had been due to "detailed identification procedures". Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, told the BBC that Mullah Baradar was being questioned. However, there was no confirmation from Pakistani officials that it was a joint U.S.-Pakistani operation.[20] The day before, Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik had denied the details of a New York Times[11] article that broke the story, stating that there was no joint U.S.-Pakistani raid and that "We are a sovereign state and hence will not allow anybody to come and do any operation. And we will not allow that. So this (report) is propaganda".[21] Besides the newspaper Dawn, the story was largely ignored in the Pakistani press when it initially broke.[22]

Reasons for capture

U.S. analysts have said that Baradar's capture is a significant shift in Pakistan's position, since Pakistan had been giving shelter to him and to other Taliban leaders until this capture.[23] But others said Pakistan captured Baradar to stop his negotiations with the Karzai government, so that Pakistan would get a seat at the table.[24] Still others said that the capture was a lucky accident, as Baradar was picked up along with others in a raid based on U.S.-supplied intelligence.[25] Another view contends that Pakistani General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani is using the series of Taliban arrests to help extend his own career beyond his slated November retirement date, the theory being that this would raise his standing among American policymakers and thus press the Pakistani government to retain him.[26]

Aftermath

Pakistan arrested several other Taliban on information from Baradar. Mullah Abdul Salam was included among such detainees.[citation needed] Pakistan indicated on February 24 that it would extradite Baradar to Afghanistan if formally asked to do so.[27] The following day the Afghan government announced that its extradition proposal was accepted by Pakistan.[28]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "BARADAR, Abdul Ghani". Interpol. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
  2. ^ "Profile: Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar". BBC. Retrieved 2010-04-14.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Moreau, Ron (2009-07-25). "America's New Nightmare". Newsweek. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
  4. ^ a b "Taliban commander Mullah Baradar 'seized in Pakistan'". BBC News. 2010-02-16. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
  5. ^ Giustozzi, Antonio (2008). Koran, Kalashnikov, and laptop: the neo-Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan. Columbia University Press. p. 47. ISBN 0231700091.
  6. ^ Green, Matthew (2010-02-16). "Taliban strategist was seen as future negotiator". Financial Times. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
  7. ^ "Profile: Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar". BBC News. 2010-02-16. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
  8. ^ "The Hunt For Bin Laden". TIME. 2001-11-26. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
  9. ^ Adamec, Ludwig W. (2005). Volume 30 of Historical dictionary of Afghan wars, revolutions, and insurgencies. Rowman & Littlefield. p. lxxxiii. ISBN 0810849488.
  10. ^ "B1, 1.4(D)". US State Department. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
  11. ^ a b Mazzetti, Mark (2010-02-16). "Secret Joint Raid Captures Taliban's Top Commander". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-02-16. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ Dam, Bette (2010-02-16). "Mullah Baradar: friend or foe?". Radio Netherlands Worldwide. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
  13. ^ Shah, Saeed (2010-02-16). "Afghanistan's No. 2 Taliban leader captured in Pakistan". McClatchy News Service. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
  14. ^ a b "Capture may be turning point in Taliban fight". CNN. 2010-02-16. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
  15. ^ Robert Gibbs told reporters the fight against extremists involves sensitive intelligence matters and he believes it's best to collect that information without talking about it. "Taliban leader's arrest a new blow to insurgents". Yahoo! News. Associated Press. 16 Feb 2010.
  16. ^ "a big success for our mutual efforts in the region," spokesman Robert Gibbs said, breaking the White House's silence on the capture of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar. Patricia Zengerle (17-Feb-2010). "White House hails capture of Taliban leader". AP Newswire. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ Yusuf, Huma (2010-02-16). "Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar: Are other Taliban leaders hiding in Karachi". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
  18. ^ "Afghanistan's Taliban Confirm Capture of Number-Two Commander". BusinessWeek. Bloomberg. 2010-02-15. Retrieved 2010-02-15.
  19. ^ "Report: Taliban's top military commander captured". Associated Press. 2010-02-15. Retrieved 2010-02-15.
  20. ^ . BBC News. 2010-02-17 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8519354.stm. Retrieved 2010-02-17. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  21. ^ "Mullah Baradar arrest reports propaganda: Rehman Malik". Dawn. 2010-02-16. Retrieved 2010-02-16. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  22. ^ Khan, M Ilyas (2010-02-17). "'Muted' Pakistan media response to Taliban arrest". BBC News. Retrieved 2010-02-17.
  23. ^ The capture of Baradar and the Afghan Taliban governors is only the most recent and highly visible signal of the possible shift. Eric Rosenbach (21 Feb 2010). "Pakistan Smart to Hit Taliban". The Boston Globe.
  24. ^ An agreement between the Taliban and the Karzai government could deprive Pakistan of influence in next-door Afghanistan. Editorial (22 Feb 2010). "Pakistan's Complicated Motives". The Boston Globe.
  25. ^ New details of the raid indicate that the arrest of the No. 2 Taliban leader was not necessarily the result of a new determination by Pakistan to go after the Taliban, or a bid to improve its strategic position in the region. Rather, it may be something more prosaic: "a lucky accident," as one American official called it. "No one knew what they were getting," he said.Scott Shane and Eric Schmitt (18 Feb 2010). "In Pakistan Raid, Taliban Chief was Extra Prize". The New York Times. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  26. ^ Shahzad, Syed Saleem (2010-02-23). "Pakistan: Detained Taliban leaders 'linked to ISI'". Adnkronos. Retrieved 2010-02-25. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  27. ^ Hussain, Zahid (2010-02-24), Pakistan Offers Taliban Official to Afghans, The Wall Street Journal, retrieved 2010-02-24 {{citation}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  28. ^ Salahuddin, Sayed (2010-02-25). "Pakistan to hand over Taliban No 2,says Afghanistan". Reuters. Retrieved 2010-02-25.
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