Pacha Khan Zadran

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Pacha Khan Zadran is a powerful militia leader and Pashtun nationalist in the southeast of Afghanistan. He was the ex Soviet-fighter militia leader that drove the Taliban from Paktia Province in the 2001 invasion, with American backing, and he subsequently assumed the governorship of the province. In 2002, he engaged in a violent conflict with rival tribal leaders in the province over the Governorship of the province, shelling Gardez City and obstructing two separate appointed governors sent by Hamid Karzai.

In 2005, he was elected to the Wolesi Jirga.

Four Guantanamo detainees Khan Zaman, his son Gul Zaman, his brother Abib Sarajuddin,and his neighbor Mohammad Gul, were all captured on the night of January 21, 2002, early during the administration of Hamid Karzai because Khan Zaman had helped recruit fighters to join Pacha Khan's forces during his drive to oust the Taliban.^[1]

The Combatant Status Review Tribunal of Khan Zaman's son, Gul Zaman, determined that Gul Zaman should never have been classified as an enemy combatant, and he was set free. The other men remain in Guantanamo.

The Seattle Times reports that American Special Forces referred to Pacha Khan Zadran as "PKZ".^[2] They report that in 2002 and 2003 the American Green Berets regarded PKZ as their main nemesis because they had been caught in the crossfire between Zadran and his local rivals.

The Seattle Times also reports that American Special Forces believed Pacha Khan was extorting payments from drivers on the Khost-Gardez highway.^[3]