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Shahzada (Taliban commander)

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For the unrelated Guantanamo captive, see Shahzada (Guantanamo Bay detainee 952).

Shahzada
Born1960[1]
Afghanistan
Arrested26 November 2001
Kunduz
Northern Alliance
Released8 May 2003
Kabul
Died7 May 2004
CitizenshipAfghanistan
Detained at Sheberghan Prison; Kandahar; Guantanamo Bay detention camp
Other name(s) Mohammed Yusif Yaqub
ISN367
StatusReleased, reengaged, and then killed.
ParentsMohammad Gul Aka (father)

Shahzada Akhund (1960 – 7 May 2004), known also by the title Mullah, was a Taliban militant commander who was held at Guantanamo Bay following the 2001 ouster of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. He used a false name, Mohammed Yusif Yaqub, and pretended to be an innocent civilian.

He succeeded in convincing the Americans that he posed no threat and was released. He subsequently rejoined the Taliban, fighting the U.S. forces in Afghanistan. He died in combat in 2004.

Prior to United States invasion of Afghanistan

Shahzada was from Mira Khor, a small village in the Maywand district of Kandahar Province, southern Afghanistan. He was from the Tarakai tribe, and his father was Mohammad Gul Aka.[2] He was born in 1960. He was educated at a madrassa in Pakistan.[2]

In 2001, a Mullah Shahzada was reported as a member of the Taliban delegation charged with responsibility over the destruction of statues.[3] The term mullah is primarily understood in the Muslim world as a term of respect for an educated religious man.[4][5] There was at least one other contemporary "Mullah Shahzada" active in the Taliban in Afghanistan.[*]

A report by the U.N. Commission on Human Rights, identified a Mullah Shahzad Kandahari ("Kandahari" refers to Kandahar) as being involved in a massacre in Rabatak, in Samangan province.[6] According to a human rights organisations, he was the commander of Khinjan front, north of Kabul, and it is alleged that he was responsible for the execution of thirty-one civilian detainees near the Rabatak pass in May 2000.[7][8] The following year, in January 2001, following the Taliban recapture of Yakawlang in Bamyan province from the United Front, the U.N. alleged he was involved in the killing of several hundred civilians, including a U.N staff member and a number of aid agency workers.[9]

United States invasion of Afghanistan

Following the United States invasion of Afghanistan, and the surrender of the Taliban forces holding Kunduz, in northern Afghanistan, Shahzada was captured by Northern Alliance forces on 26 November 2001.[10] He pretended to be an innocent rug merchant captured by mistake and used a false name,[11] Mohammed Yusif Yaqub.[12] In reality, he had been a Taliban officer during the invasion.[11] He was transported to Sheberghan Prison, where he was held for seven weeks, before being handed over to the United States at Kandahar. He was later transferred to Guantanamo Bay detention camp, arriving on 15 June 2002, where he was given the Internment Serial Number (ISN) 367.[10]

During his time in Guantanamo, he was consistent and stuck to his cover story about being a rug merchant.[11] Ultimately, he was successful in convincing the American authorities that he was not a Taliban leader and that he did not pose a threat to U.S. interests. As a result, in December 2002, Shahzada was recommended for release. This occurred on 8 May 2003,[12] and he was flown to Kabul.[13] Gul Agha Sherzai, the post-Taliban governor of Kandahar, has said that Afghan offers of help in identifying known Talibans, which might have shown Shahzada's cover story to be false, were repeatedly rejected.[14]

Once back in Afghanistan, he returned to combat as a commander, recruiting fighters using stories of established poor treatment at the hands of the Americans in Guanatanamo as a recruiting tool. He was also behind a significant prison break:[14] in October 2003 he arranged for forty-one Taliban prisoners to escape from Sarposa prison, including the brother of the Taliban defence minister.[15] The New York Times reported that after his return to fighting, he was responsible for the operations that killed at least thirteen people, including two aid workers.[11]

Newsweek named him Mullah Shahzada Akhund, describing him as a senior leader. They placed him in the Arghandab district, near Kandahar, where he met with the leader of the Taliban, Mohammed Omar, ten days before his death.[16] He died 7 May 2004.[12] His death has variously been described as occurring in action against the U.S,[12] and as being an accident.[11] Newsweek, whose report is the most detailed, refers to it as a friendly-fire incident.[16] He died in Nalgham, near Kandahar.[2]

Other mentions of a Mullah Shahzada

Two days before the release from Guantanamo of ISN 367, who was released on 8 May 2003,[12] the New York Times reported in an article about the resurgence of the Taliban on an interview with a "religious teacher and former fighter" named Mullah Shahzada, in Quetta, Pakistan. This Shahzada was reported as coming from Helmand province,[17] not Kandahar province.

The People's Daily reports that a Mullah Shahzada was injured during a firefight in Helmand province in October 2005.[18]

References

  1. ^ "Transfer Recommendationfor GTMO Detainee, MohammedYusif Yaqub, ISN: US9AF-00367DP" (PDF). US: Department of Defense. 14 December 2002. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  2. ^ a b c My Life with the Taliban. C. Hurst & Co. 2013. p. 20, also note 15. ISBN 9781849044455. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  3. ^ "New Governor for Parwan". Kyrgyzstan Daily Digest. 21 March 2001. Archived from the original on 21 July 2001 – via EurasiaNet.
  4. ^ "Definition of 'mullah'". Collins English Dictionary.
  5. ^ "Definition of mullah". Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
  6. ^ "Report on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan submitted by Mr. Kamal Hossain, Special Rapporteur, in accordance with Commission on Human Rights resolution 2000/18: Addendum". U.N. Commission on Human Rights. 27 March 2001. para. 7, 12 – via ReliefWeb.
  7. ^ "Afghanistan: Massacres of Hazaras in Afghanistan". Human Rights Watch. 19 February 2001. pp. 8–10.
  8. ^ "Casting Shadows: War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity: 1978-2001" (PDF). Afghanistan Justice Project. July 2005. pp. 128–131.
  9. ^ "Report on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan submitted by Mr. Kamal Hossain, Special Rapporteur, in accordance with Commission on Human Rights resolution 2000/18: Addendum". U.N. Commission on Human Rights. 27 March 2001. para. 11, 12 – via ReliefWeb.
  10. ^ a b "Transfer Recommendation for GTMO Detainee, Mohammed Yusif Yakub, ISN: US9AF-00367DP". U.S. Department of Defense. 14 December 2002 – via New York Times.
  11. ^ a b c d e "THE REACH OF WAR; U.S. Said to Overstate Value Of Guantánamo Detainees". The New York Times. 21 June 2004.
  12. ^ a b c d e "FACTBOX: Pentagon releases data on former Gitmo detainees". Reuters. 15 May 2007.
  13. ^ "The Herald, Volume 35, Issues 10-12". Herald. 2004 – via University of Michigan.
  14. ^ a b "After Gitmo, A Talib Takes Revenge". TIME. 7 June 2004.
  15. ^ "The Destruction of Sarposa". Stratfor. 18 June 2008.
  16. ^ a b "LAST DAYS OF THE TALIBAN?". Newsweek. 26 December 2004.
  17. ^ "AFTEREFFECTS: ISLAMIC MILITANTS; In Pakistan Border Towns, Taliban Has a Resurgence". New York Times. 6 May 2003.
  18. ^ "Clash leaves 9 police dead in South Afghanistan". People's Daily. 22 October 2005.
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