(Left to right) Former
Taliban officials Maulvi Mohamed NabiUmari, Mullah
Abdul HaqWaseeq, Mullah NoorulallahNoori, Mullah Mohamed FazilAkhund
and Mullah KhairullahKhairkhuwa, exchanged
for U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl.
Mullah Omar Lauds U.S. Release of 'Brave, Important' Taliban Leaders
(Gulf Times, UAE)
"This great success is an indication of the good news that
independence for our entire country is near, and gives us hope that Inshallah - the Afghan mujahedeen will bring the Afghan
people's ship of high hopes nearer to the shore."
"No
one from the Taliban political office in Doha was part of the Qatar delegation that
went to Guantanamo Bay to receive the five leaders freed on May 31 in exchange
for a U.S. soldier who was held captive," a senior Afghan Taliban source
told Gulf Times yesterday.
"The
United States freed five 'brave and important' Taliban leaders in exchange for
their one low ranking soldier," he stressed.
In
a landmark prisoner exchange between the United States and the Afghan Taliban,
five Taliban leaders, who had been detained for 13 years, were handed over to a
delegation from Qatar. At precisely the same time, American soldier Sergeant
Bowe Bergdahl, held captive by the Taliban since June
2009, was handed over to a U.S. Special Forces team in Khost,
Afghanistan.
In
terms of the delegation to whom the Americans handed over the five, the Taliban
source said: "Right now, I can only confirm that there was no one in the
delegation from our side."
Members
of the Taliban political office only met their freed comrades when they reached
Doha.
The
Taliban have said that the five men who have been released were "brave and
important leaders" of their movement who had experienced the battlefield,
and previously held high-ranking positions.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
The
Taliban confirmed that Mullah Mohamed FazilAkhund was the Islamic Emirate’s Chief of Army Staff;
Mullah NoorulallahNoori
was head of the North zone and governor of Balkh in Afghanistan; Mullah KhairullahKhairkhuwa was interior
minister and later head of the western zone and Herat governor; Mullah Abdul HaqWaseeq was deputy chief of Taliban
intelligence; and Maulvi Mohamed NabiUmari was described only as a Frontier Corps
Commander who had done important work for the movement.
Moreover,
in a "commentary" released yesterday, the Taliban said that the
release of the five important leaders was "good news" for the "independence"
of Afghanistan. It quoted their chief, Mullah Omar, as saying that "this
great success is an indication of the good news that independence for our
entire country is near, and gives us hope that Inshallah
- the Afghan mujahedeen will bring the Afghan people's ship of high hopes nearer
to the shore."
All
the five released Taliban officials are now living in Qatar and spending most
of their time "resting," after 13 years at the dreaded Guantanamo Bay
prison camp. Documents leaked by WikiLeaks about these five Taliban members
also confirm that they were high-ranking officials. About Mullah Mohamed Fazil, Joint Task
Force Guantanamo said that he was the Taliban's Deputy Minister of Defense
during Operation Enduring Freedom. He served as chief of staff of the Taliban
army and commander of the 22nd division. He was accused of possible war crimes,
including the murder of thousands of Shiite Muslims.
About
Mullah NoorulallahNoori, it
said he was a senior Taliban military commander in Mazar-e-Sharif
during hostilities against U.S. and coalition forces in late 2001. He was also Taliban
governor for Balkh and Laghman provinces. He, too,
was accused of possible war crimes, including the murder of thousands of Shiite
Muslims.
Mullah
KhairullahKhairkhuwa was
described as a senior Taliban official serving as the minister of interior,
governor of Herat, and a military commander. He was linked with Osama bin Laden,
Mullah Omar, and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. He was is
alleged to be a narcotics trafficker.
Abdul
HaqWaseeq was Taliban
deputy minister of intelligence. He was said to be central to the Taliban’s
efforts to form alliances with other groups to fight alongside the Taliban
against U.S. and coalition forces after the September 11, 2001 attacks. He was
accused of utilizing his office to support al-Qaeda and assisting Taliban
personnel elude capture.
Maulvi Mohamed NabiUmari was alleged not only a Taliban official, but considered
close to al-Qaeda, the Haqqani Network, and Hezb-e-IslamiGulbuddin.
