Ismail Khan | |
|---|---|
 Ismail Khan at the 2010 National Conference on Water Resources, Development and Management of Afghanistan | |
| Minister of Energy and Water | |
| In office 2004 – October 2013 | |
| President | Hamid Karzai |
| Succeeded by | Mohammad Arif Noorzai |
| Governor of Herat Province | |
| In office 2001 – 12 September 2004 | |
| President | Hamid Karzai |
| Preceded by | Mulla Yaar Mohammad |
| Succeeded by | Sayed Mohammad Khairkhah |
| In office 1992–1997 | |
| Succeeded by | Mullah Yaar Mohammad |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1946 (age 78–79) Shindand,Herat Province,Kingdom of Afghanistan |
| Political party | Jamiat-e-Islami |
| Occupation | Politician, formerMujahideen leader |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Kingdom of Afghanistan(1967–1973)  Republic of Afghanistan(1973–1978)  Democratic Republic of Afghanistan(1978–1979)  Afghan mujahideen(1979–1992)  Islamic State of Afghanistan(1992–1996) Northern Alliance(1997–1998; 2001)  Islamic Republic of Afghanistan(until 2021) |
| Branch/service | _%25E2%2580%2593_Army.svg) Afghan Army (1967‐79) Jamiat-e Islami (1979–2001) |
| Years of service | 1967–2021 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Battles/wars | |
Mohammad Ismail Khan (Dari/Pashto: محمد اسماعیل خان; born 1946), better known asIsmail Khan, is an Afghan former military officer, warlord andpolitician who served asMinister of Energy and Water from 2005 to 2013 and before that served as thegovernor ofHerat Province. Originally a captain in theAfghan Army, he is widely known as a formerwarlord who controlled a largeAfghan mujahideen force, mainly his fellowTajiks from western Afghanistan, during theSoviet–Afghan War.[1]
His reputation gained him the nicknameLion of Herat.[2] Ismail Khan was a key member of the now exiled political partyJamiat-e Islami and of the now defunctUnited National Front party.[3] In 2021, Ismail Khan returned to arms to help defend Herat from theTaliban's offensive, which he and the Afghan Army lost.[4] He was captured by theTaliban forces[5][6][7] and then reportedly fled to Iran on 16 August 2021.[8][9]
Khan was born in 1946 in theShindand District ofHerat Province in Afghanistan. An ethnicTajik, his family is from the Chahar-Mahal neighborhood of Shindand.
In early 1979, Ismail Khan was acaptain in theAfghan Army based in the western city of Herat. In early March of that year, there was a protest in front of the Communist governor's palace against the arrests and assassinations being carried out in the countryside by theKhalq government. The governor's troops opened fire on the demonstrators, who proceeded to storm the palace and hunt down Soviet advisers. The Herat garrison mutinied and joined the revolt in what is called theHerat uprising, with Ismail Khan and other officers distributing all available weapons to the insurgents. The government led byNur Mohammed Taraki responded, pulverizing the city using Soviet supplied bombers and killing up to 24,000 citizens in less than a week.[10] This event marked the opening salvo of the rebellion which led to theSoviet military intervention in Afghanistan in December 1979. Ismail Khan escaped to the countryside where he began to assemble a local rebel force.[11]
During the ensuing war, he became the leader of the western command ofBurhanuddin Rabbani'sJamiat-e-Islami, political party. WithAhmad Shah Massoud, he was one of the most respected mujahideen leaders.[10] In 1992, three years after the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, the mujahideen captured Herat and Ismail Khan becamegovernor.
In 1995, he successfully defended his province against theTaliban, in cooperation with defense minister Ahmad Shah Massoud. Khan even tried to attack the Taliban stronghold ofKandahar, but was repulsed. Later in September, an ally of the Jamiat,Uzbek GeneralAbdul Rashid Dostum changed sides and attacked Herat. Ismail Khan was forced to flee to neighboringIran with 8,000 men, and the Taliban took over Herat Province.
Two years later, while organizing opposition to the Taliban in Faryab area, he was betrayed and captured byAbdul Majid Rouzi who had defected to the Taliban along withAbdul Malik Pahlawan, then one of Dostum's deputies.[10] Then in March 1999 he escaped from Kandahar prison. During theU.S. intervention in Afghanistan, he fought against the Taliban within the United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan (Northern Alliance) and thus regained his position as Governor of Herat after they were victorious in December 2001.
After returning to Herat, Ismail Khan quickly consolidated his control over the region. He took over control of the city from the localulema and quickly established control over the trade route between Herat and Iran, a large source of revenue.[12] AsEmir of Herat, Ismail Khan exercised great autonomy, providing social welfare for Heratis, expanding his power into neighbouring provinces, and maintaining direct international contacts.[13] Although hated by the educated in Herat and often accused of human rights abuses, Ismail Khan's regime provided security, paid government employees, and made investments in public services.[14] However, during his tenure as governor, Ismail Khan was accused of ruling his province like a private fiefdom, leading to increasing tensions with theAfghan Transitional Administration. In particular, he refused to pass on to the government the revenues gained from custom taxes on goods from Iran andTurkmenistan.
On 13 August 2003, President Karzai removed Governor Ismail Khan from his command of the4th Corps. This was announced as part of a programme removing the ability of officials to hold both civilian and military posts.
Ismail Khan was ultimately removed from power in March 2004 due to pressure by neighbouring warlords and the central Afghan government. Various sources have presented different versions of the story, and the exact dynamics cannot be known with certainty. What is known is that Ismail Khan found himself at odds with a few regional commanders who, although theoretically his subordinates, attempted to remove him from power. Ismail Khan claims that these efforts began with a botched assassination attempt. Afterwards, these commanders moved their forces near Herat. Ismail Khan, unpopular with the Herati military class, was slow to mobilise his forces, perhaps waiting for the threat to Herat to become existential as a means to motivate his forces. However, the conflict was stopped with the intervention ofInternational Security Assistance Force forces and soldiers of theAfghan National Army, freezing the conflict in its tracks. Ismail Khan's forces even fought skirmishes with the Afghan National Army, in which his son,Mirwais Sadiq was killed. Because Ismail Khan was contained by the Afghan National Army, the warlords who opposed him were quickly able to occupy strategic locations unopposed. Ismail Khan was forced to give up his governorship and to go to Kabul, where he served inHamid Karzai's cabinet as the Minister of Energy.[15]
In 2005 Ismail Khan became theMinister of Water and Energy.
In late 2012, the Government of Afghanistan accused Ismail Khan of illegally distributing weapons to his supporters.[16] About 40 members of the country'sParliament requested Ismail Khan to answer their queries. The government believes that Khan is attempting to create some kind of disruption in the country.[1][17]
On September 27, 2009, Ismail Khan survived a suicide blast that killed 4 of his bodyguards in Herat, in western Afghanistan. He was driving toHerat Airport when a powerful explosion occurred close to his convoy of vehicles. Taliban spokesmanZabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility and said Khan was the target.[18]
Guantanamo captive Abdul Razzaq Hekmati requested Ismail Khan's testimony, when he was called before aCombatant Status Review Tribunal.[19] Ismail Khan, likeAfghan Minister of DefenseRahim Wardak, was one of the high-profile Afghans that those conducting the Tribunals ruled were "not reasonably available" to give a statement on a captive's behalf because they could not be located.
Hekmati had played a key role in helping Ismail Khan escape from the Taliban in 1999.[20]Hekmati stood accused of helping Taliban leaders escape from the custody of Hamid Karzai's government.
Carlotta Gall andAndy Worthington interviewed Ismail Khan for a newThe New York Times article after Hekmati died of cancer in Guantanamo.[20] According to theNew York TimesIsmail Khan said he personally buttonholed the American ambassador to tell him that Hekmati was innocent, and should be released. In contrast, Hekmati was told that the State Department had been unable to locate Khan.
In July 2021, Ismail Khan mobilized hundreds of his loyalists in Herat in support of theAfghan Armed Forces to defend the city froman offensive by the Taliban.[21] Despite this, the city fell on 12 August 2021.[22][23][24] After trying to escape by helicopter, Khan was captured by the Taliban.[22][23][24] The Taliban interviewed him shortly after and claimed that he and his forces have joined them.[24][25] After negotiating with the Taliban, he was allowed to return to his residence.[26]
After leaving Taliban custody, as of August 2021 Khan is living inMashhad,Iran.[27] He said that a conspiracy was responsible for Herat being captured by the Taliban.[9]
Ismail Khan is a controversial figure.Reporters Without Borders has charged him with muzzling the press and ordering attacks on journalists.[28] AlsoHuman Rights Watch has accused him of human rights abuses.[29]
Nevertheless, he remains a popular figure for some in Afghanistan. Unlike other mujahideen commanders, Khan has not been linked to large-scale massacres and atrocities such as those committed after the capture of Kabul in 1992.[10] Following news of his dismissal, rioting broke out in the streets of Herat, and President Karzai had to ask him to make a personal appeal for calm.[30]
Abdul Razzaq Hekmati was regarded here as a war hero, famous for his resistance to the Russian occupation in the 1980s and later for a daring prison break he organized for three opponents of the Taliban government in 1999.
| Preceded by unknown | Governor of Herat Province 1992–1997 | Succeeded by unknown |
| Preceded by Khairullah Khairkhwa (Taleban) | Governor of Herat Province 2001–2004 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Ahmad Shaker Kargar | Minister of Water and Energy 2005–2013 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
