Abdul Haq (Afghan leader)

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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.

1 Early life
2 Mujahideen years
3 Post-war period
4 9/11 and execution
5 Notes
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Early life

Haq was born in Fatehbad (Afghanistan), a small village in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, although he quickly moved with his family to Helmand. His father, Mohammed Ana, was an official representative for the Nangarhar construction company in Helmand, and relatively wealthy by Afghan standards.^[1] His family was well connected, part of the Arsala Khel family, the Jabar Khel clan, and 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.^[2] 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.^[3] A year after that his 51 year old father died of kidney disease, prompting Din Mohammed to assume leadership of the family,^[4] 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.^[5]

[edit] 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.^[6]

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.^[7] He later switched to the faction led by Mohammad Yunus Khalis. During the Soviet war in Afghanistan, Haq coordinated mujahideen actvities in the province of Kabul.^[6] His tactical skills and bravery lead to his achieving a remarkable reputation as a uniter and in achieving leadership positions throughout Afghanistan.

The Guardian reported that Haq was injured twelve times, including losing part of one leg. Due to his leg injuries, he always entered battle on horse-back.^[7]

[edit] Post-war period

Haq was briefly a cabinet minister in charge of internal security during the period after the ouster of the communists, and the Taliban's assumption of power -- but he left due to the internecine struggles, and settled in Dubai, where he was a successful trader.^[7]

In 1998 he became a United Nations Peace Mediator.^[7]

In January 1998, 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.^[8]

[edit] 9/11 and execution

Following the al-Qaeda attacks of September 11, 2001 against the United States, Haq entered Afghanistan from Pakistan and tried to lead an uprising against the Taliban. He was captured by the Taliban along with nineteen others between the towns of Hisarak and Azro, and was executed on October 26, 2001 by being shot execution style and then was hung.^[6] The Guardian speculates that his capture was due to a betrayal by double agents.^[7] Some reports soon after his death blamed the CIA for siding too closely with Pakistan's ISI, (who did not care for his ability to join Afghans across ethnic lines), and not supporting Haq in Afghanistan.^[9]

An obituary in The Guardian called him an "astute leader", and one of the few leaders capable of working to bring together a working pan-ethnic loya jirga.^[7]