Khairullah Khairkhwa

Khairullah Khairkhwa
Born 1967 (1967) (age 45)
Kandahar
Arrested 2001
Citizenship Afghanistan
Detained at Guantanamo
ISN 579
Status Still held in Guantanamo

Khirullah Said Wali Khairkhwa is a Taliban official and former governor of Herat, he is currently held in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.[1] American intelligence analysts estimate that Khairkhwa was born in 1967, in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Press reports have referred to him as "Mullah" and "Maulavi", two different honorifics for referring to senior Muslim clerics.[2][3][4][5][6]

Khirullah held various government posts, both before the Taliban took over Afghanistan, including a police official in Kabul, and finally, Governor of Herat Province.[2][7] Some reports have said he had been the Taliban's deputy minister of the interior, interim minister of the interior, the minister of the interior, and the Minister of Information.[3][5] Khirullah was also to serve as the Taliban's Minister of Foreign Affairs spokesman, giving interviews to the British Broadcasting Corporation and the Voice of America.

Khirullah Said Wali Khairkhwa arrived at Guantanamo on May 1, 2002, and has been held there for 9 years, 9 months and 25 days.[8][9][10]

In early 2011 president Hamid Karzai demanded his release and Hekmat Karzai, the director of the Centre for Conflict and Peace Studies in Kabul said "His release will be influential to the peace process," and that "Mr Khairkhwa is well respected amongst the Taliban and was considered a moderate by those who knew him,"[11][12]

References

  1. ^ "List of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from January 2002 through May 15, 2006". United States Department of Defense. http://www.dod.mil/news/May2006/d20060515%20List.pdf. Retrieved 2006-05-15. 
  2. ^ a b "Taliban blames foes of killing mine-clearers". Independent Online. 2000-08-07. http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?sf=116&set_id=1&click_id=3&art_id=qw965634540501B212. "The Taliban Governor in the province, Mullah Khairullah Khairkhwa, has blamed the opposition Northern Alliance for the attack, saying the assailants have been arrested. The oppositions reaction was not immediately available." 
  3. ^ a b Letta Tayler (2002-01-01). "Jewish men share faith, hatred in Kabul". Chicago Tribune: p. 4. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/newsday/access/97462841.html?dids=97462841:97462841&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Dec+31,+2001&author=Letta+Tayler.+STAFF+CORRESPONDENT&pub=Newsday+(Combined+editions)&desc=Blood+Feud+in+Afghanistan+/+Bitter+rift+over+Torah+divides+Kabul's+two+remaining+Jews&pqatl=google. 
  4. ^ "Afghanistan's Taliban, opposition both claim gains". CNN. 1997-07-31. http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9707/31/afghanistan/. 
  5. ^ a b Kaswar Klasra (2010-01-26). "UN seeks to drop some Taliban leaders". The Nation (Pakistan). http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Politics/26-Jan-2010/UN-seeks-to-drop-some-Taliban-leaders. 
  6. ^ "Eight dead in Afghan blast". BBC News. 2001-05-04. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1312986.stm. 
  7. ^ "Red Cross: Families ID detainees in list". USA Today. 2006-04-20. http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-04-20-gitmo-detainees_x.htm. 
  8. ^ JTF-GTMO (2007-03-16). "Measurements of Heights and Weights of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba". Department of Defense. http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/measurements/. Retrieved 2008-12-22.  mirror
  9. ^ "Measurements of Heights and Weights of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (ordered and consolidated version)". Center for the Study of Human Rights in the Americas, from DoD data. Archived from the original on 2009-12-21. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fhumanrights.ucdavis.edu%2Fresources%2Flibrary%2Fdocuments-and-reports%2Fgtmo_heightsweights.pdf&date=2009-12-21. 
  10. ^ Margot Williams (2008-11-03). "Guantanamo Docket: Khirullah Said Wali Khairkhwa". New York Times. http://projects.nytimes.com/guantanamo/detainees/579-khirullah-said-wali-khairkhwa. Retrieved 2010-03-30. 
  11. ^ Nordland, Rod (2011-02-08). "Karzai Calls for Release of Taliban Official From Guantánamo". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/09/world/asia/09afghan.html. 
  12. ^ http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/03/2011314162928307158.html

External links