Abdul Ghani Baradar
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| “ | We did not expect to succeed this way, but God was on our side. | „ |
| ~ Baradar reflecting on the Taliban's victory in 2021. |
Abdul Ghani Baradar (born 29 September 1963) is an Afghan political and religious leader. He is a co-founder (alongside Mullah Mohammed Omar) and longtime deputy leader of the Taliban.
He was Mullah Omar's top deputy from 2002 to 2010, and since 2019 he has been the Taliban's fourth-in-command, as the third of Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada's three deputies.
He held senior positions in the Taliban during their rule from 1996 to 2001. After the Taliban government fell to the US-led invasion in 2001 (beginning the War in Afghanistan), he rose to lead the organization's Quetta Shura in Pakistan, becoming the de facto leader of the Taliban. He was imprisoned by Pakistan in 2010, possibly because he had been discussing a peace deal with the Afghan government secretly, without the involvement of Pakistan. He was released in 2018 at the request of the United States and was subsequently appointed a deputy leader of the Taliban and head of their political office in Qatar.
Biography edit
Birth edit
Informations on Abdul's birth aren't certain. In fact, according to the United Nations Security Council Consolidated List, Abdul was born in 1968 in the Yatimak village of Deh Rawood District in Uruzgan Province of the Kingdom of Afghanistan. However, his identity documents clames that his year of birth is 1963 and his date and place of birth is the 29th September 1963 in Uruzgan.
Meeting with Mohammed Omar edit
According to Dutch journalist Bette Dam, he and Muhammed Omar became friends when they were teenagers, but Newsweek says that Omar and Baradar may be brothers-in-law via marriage to two sisters.
During the Soviet-Afghan War edit
He fought during the the Soviet–Afghan War in Kandahar, serving as Omar's deputy in a group of Afghan mujahideen against the Soviet-backed Afghan government. He later operated a madrassa in Maiwand, Kandahar Province.
Foundation of the Taliban edit
In 1994, he was one of four men, who founded the Taliban in southern Afghanistan. During Taliban rule (1996–2001), Baradar held a variety of posts: he was reportedly governor of Herat and Nimruz provinces, and/or the Corps Commander for western Afghanistan, Deputy Chief of Army Staff, Commander of Central Army Corps and Deputy Minister of Defense.
War in Afghanistan edit
After Al-Qaeda's September 11 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, he hopped on a motorcycle and drove his old friend Omar to safety in the mountains in November 2001 as Taliban defenses were crumbling.
After, the new Afghan government was created. Now, Baradar found himself fighting international forces and the newly formed Afghan government. Baradar eventually rose to lead the Quetta Shura and became the leader of the Taliban, directing the insurgency from Pakistan.
Arrestement edit
Baradar was arrested by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) towards late January or early February 2010 in Karachi. Eventually, he was released in mid-October 2018.
Aftermath edit
Baradar was appointed a deputy to the supreme leader of the Taliban and the chief of the Taliban's political office, in January 2019.
Then, in February 2020, Baradar signed the Doha Agreement on the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan on behalf of the Taliban. On the 17th August 2021, Baradar returned to Afghanistan for the first time since the fall of the first Taliban government in 2001.
Overthrown of the government of Ashraf Ghani edit
After the overthrown of Ashraf Ghani's government in Afghanistan in August 2021, it was rumored that he would have become the president of Afghanistan. On the 23rd August 2021, CIA Director William J. Burns held a secret meeting with Baradar in Kabul to discuss the 31th August deadline for a U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Trivia edit
- He is a Zirak Durrani Pashtun of the Sadozai tribe, a sub-tribe of the Popalzai.
- On the 15th September 2021, Baradar was listed on the Time magazine as one of the "100 Most Influential People in 2021".