Abdul Qadeer | |
|---|---|
عبدالقدیر | |
 Qadeer in 2002 | |
| Vice President of Afghanistan | |
| In office 19 June 2002 – 6 July 2002 | |
| President | Hamid Karzai |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1951 |
| Died | 6 July 2002(2002-07-06) (aged 50–51) |
| Other political affiliations | Hezb-i Islami Khalis |
| Relations | Din Mohammad(brother) Abdul Haq(brother) Zahir Qadeer(son) |
| Occupation | Mujahideen leader |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Pakistan |
| Battles/wars | Soviet–Afghan War Afghan Civil War (1996–2001) |
HajjiAbdul Qadeer (Pashto:حاجی عبدالقدیر;c. 1951 – 6 July 2002) was an Afghan politician and prominentNorthern Alliance leader who fought theTaliban during theThird Afghan Civil War. Originally a commander of theHezb-i Islami Khalis faction during theSoviet–Afghan War, he then served as governor ofNangarhar Province, the head of the Eastern Afghanistan Shura, and laterVice President of Afghanistan and Minister of Public Works in the administration ofHamid Karzai from 19 June 2002 until his assassination on 6 July 2002. He was the older brother of fellow anti-Soviet and Northern Alliance commanderAbdul Haq, who was assassinated in late 2001 by theTaliban.
Abdul Qadeer was born in 1951 inJalalabad,Nangarhar Province. He belonged to the influentialPashtun Arsala family fromNangarhar province of Afghanistan.[1] He was involved in Afghan politics even before the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. When the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, Qadeer fought against them as a key resistance commander with theHezb-e Islami Khalis faction.[1] After the Soviet retreat in 1989 and the fall of the Afghan communist regime in 1992, Qadeer was appointed governor ofNangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan.
On 27 September 1996, theTaliban took power in Kabul with military support by Pakistan and financial support by Saudi Arabia. Qadeer had to flee from Nangarhar and entered neighbouringPakistan. Because of his opposition to the Taliban (unlikeYunus Khalis), however, he soon faced trouble with the authorities in Pakistan. Qadir then left forGermany.[1] In the following years he shuttled between Germany andDubai where he had started a trading business.
In 1999, Qadeer returned to Afghanistan and joined theNorthern Alliance (United Front), which was the only resistance force left against the Taliban regime and its allies.[1] The United Front included forces and leaders from different political backgrounds as well as from all Afghan ethnicities including Pashtuns,Tajiks,Uzbeks,Hazaras andTurkmens. Qadeer came to lead the United Front's Eastern Shura and ensured the alliance's influence in the largely Pashtun east of Afghanistan.[1]
From the Taliban conquest in 1996 until November 2001 the United Front controlled roughly 30% of Afghanistan's population in provinces such asBadakhshan,Kapisa,Takhar and parts ofParwan,Kunar,Nuristan,Laghman,Samangan,Kunduz,Ghōr andBamyan.Ahmad Shah Massoud did not intend for the United Front to become the ruling government of Afghanistan. His vision was for the United Front to help establish a new government, where the various ethnic groups would share power and live in peace through a democratic form of government.
Qadeer's younger brotherAbdul Haq, a famous anti-Soviet resistance fighter, was executed by Taliban Interior Minister Mulla Abdul Razaq from Zhob Pakistan, (captain Imam's student).Taliban agents on October 26, 2001 when trying to rally anti-Taliban support among the Pashtuns as part of the US-led effort against the Taliban after9/11.[1]
After the fall of the Taliban regime, Abdul Qadeer joined with two other leaders,Hazrat Ali and HajiMohammed Zaman, to lead theEastern Shura.[2] After the 2001 Bonn Conference on Afghanistan, Afghan interim presidentHamid Karzai nominated Qadeer to be one of theVice Presidents of Afghanistan, and Minister of Public Works.
Abdul Qadeer was alleged to have had connections with those engaged inAfghanistan's opium poppy trade.[3]
On 6 July 2002, Qadeer and his son-in-law were killed by gunmen.[4] In 2004, one man was sentenced to death and two others to prison sentences for the assassination.[5][6][7][8]
Qadeer belonged to the very influentialPashtun Arsala family from the east of Afghanistan.[1] His brother was the anti-Soviet commander of Kabul FrontAbdul Haq who was executed in late 2001 by theTaliban. The Arsala family is based in the Afghan province ofNangarhar. The capital of Nangarhar isJalalabad. He had very strong ties with the late Afghan King,Zaher Shah. The Afghans, in particular the people of Nangarhar, refer to him as the "Warrior of Afghanistan". He is known to have accomplished many things in the time of his power, especially in Nangarhar where he governed.[3]
Abdul Qadeer's sonZahir Qadir, a former military commander in the Afghan National Army, served as the deputy speaker of the AfghanHouse of the People.[9]
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by ? | Governor ofNangarhar Province,Afghanistan (? prior to Taliban period), again 2001–2002 | Succeeded by |
Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan | |||||
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Islamic Republic of Afghanistan |
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| International | |
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| National | |
