Hajji Abdul Qadir Arsala (c. 1954-2002) (Arabic: الحاج عبد القادر) was a former leader in the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan.He was also a member of the Pashtun Mafia [1][2] He was the brother of Abdul Haq, a Pashtun leader executed by the Taliban. Qadir was governor of his home province of Nangarhar before the Taliban gained power and retook the position after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan.
Qadir joined with two other leaders, Hazrat Ali and Hajji Mohammed Zaman, to form the Eastern Shura.[3] Qadir accompanied Hamid Karzai on a trip to Bonn in the fall of 2001, to back his leadership of Afghanistan.
Asia Times reports that Qadir was a central figure controlling the growth and export of heroin, and that he had links to the CIA.[1]
Afghan president Karzai nominated Qadir to be the third vice-president of the government, and Minister of Public Works; as a prominent member of the transitional government, Qadir was backed by the United States. On July 6, 2002, Qadir and his son-in-law were killed by gunmen in a surprise attack with unknown motive. In 2004, one man was sentenced to death and two others to prison sentences for the killing.[4]
Qadir's family was a traditionally powerful one, with ties to former king Zahir Shah.[1]
See also
References
- ^ a b c A body blow to U.S., Asia Times, July 9 2002 - an extensive obituary
- ^ Abdul Qadir: Key leader in Afghan struggle, The Guardian, July 8 2002 - Report of Qadir's death in the Guardian newspaper
- ^ Taking a spin in Tora Bora, Asia Times, December 7 2001
- ^ Afghanistan, US Department of State, February 28 2005