Pacha Khan Zadran

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Pacha Khan Zadran is a powerful militia leader, politician and Pashtun nationalist in the southeast of Afghanistan. He was an ex Soviet-fighter militia leader who played a role in driving the Taliban from Paktia Province in the 2001 invasion, with American backing, and he subsequently assumed the governorship of the province. In 2002, he engaged in a violent conflict with rival tribal leaders in the province over the Governorship of the province, shelling Gardez City and obstructing two separate appointed governors sent by Hamid Karzai.

Contents 1 Governor of Paktia 2 Siege of Khost 3 Arrested in Pakistan 4 Elected to Afghanistan's legislature 5 Guantanamo connection 6 Reports of banditry 7 September 2007 meeting with Dan McNeil, NATO commander 8 Assassination attempts 9 See also 10 References

[edit] Governor of Paktia

Zadran was one of the anti-Taliban warlords who attended the December 2001 conference in Bonn Germany which chose Hamid Karzai as President of the Afghan Transitional Authority.^[1]

That month, Karzai appointed Zadran as governor of the Paktia Province.^[2] However, locals from the capital of Gardez immediately began attacks against Zadran's troops, leading the warlord to appoint his son Abdul Wali, formerly an import-export manager of automobiles in Dubai, as military commander of his 3,000 forces in the city. His younger son, Kamal, was already leading his father's troops in Khost.^[3]

He was chased out of office two months later - and a new governor was appointed. Zadran vowed to retake the province, and his troops began launching rockets into the city to no avail.^[2]

[edit] Siege of Khost

Angered that his assistance to American forces had not been rewarded, and his removal from Paktia, Zadran's forces quickly became a "renegade" force. In September 2002, they laid an unsuccessful siege to the city of Khost.^[2]

[edit] Arrested in Pakistan

Zadran was arrested by Pakistani security forces in November 2003. On February 3 2004 he and his brother Amanullah were brought to the border of Afghanistan and handed over to Afghan troops. They were then driven to Jalalabad Airport, and a helicopter took them to Kabul.^[2]

[edit] Elected to Afghanistan's legislature

In 2005, he was elected to the Afghanistan's legislature, the Wolesi Jirga. According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies^[4]:

"The disarmament commission reports that Pacha Khan Zadran, a commander in southeastern Paktia province who had surrendered weapons in order to be allowed to stand as a candidate for the lower house, has not handed over all his weapons."

[edit] Guantanamo connection

Four Guantanamo detainees Khan Zaman, his son Gul Zaman, his brother Abib Sarajuddin,and his neighbor Mohammad Gul, were all captured on the night of January 21, 2002, early during the administration of Hamid Karzai because Khan Zaman had helped recruit fighters to join Pacha Khan's forces during his drive to oust the Taliban.^[5]

The Combatant Status Review Tribunal of Khan Zaman's son, Gul Zaman, determined that Gul Zaman should never have been classified as an enemy combatant, and he was set free. The other men remain in Guantanamo.

[edit] Reports of banditry

Human Rights Watch, in a 2003 report entitled: "Killing you is a very easy thing for us", quoted truck drivers who reported being robbed at roadblocks set up by Pacha Khan Zadran's men^[6]:

“I’ll tell you: The checkpoint on the way to Khost took 200 Pakistani rupees [U.S.$2.50] from me. This was the checkpoint that belongs to Padsha Khan Zadran.

“Once I refused to pay, and they put a gun on me, and they took the money by force. You cannot say no to them.”

Tribal forces captured Pacha Khan Zadran in Pakistan's Tribal Areas on December 1, 2003.^[7] He was handed over to Afghanistan's officials at the Pakistan/Afghanistan border on February 3, 2004 in Nangarhar. Officials said the capture occurred with their cooperaion because his forces had been setting up roadblocks on the roads in Paktia, and robbing travelers.

The Seattle Times reports that American Special Forces referred to Pacha Khan Zadran as "PKZ".^[1] They report that in 2002 and 2003 the American Green Berets regarded PKZ as their main nemesis because they had been caught in the crossfire between Zadran and his local rivals.

The Seattle Times also reports that American Special Forces believed Pacha Khan was extorting payments from drivers on the Khost-Gardez highway.^[8]

[edit] September 2007 meeting with Dan McNeil, NATO commander

NATO commander American General Dan McNeill inadvertently triggered hostilities when he met with Zadran in early September 2007.^[9] McNeill's intent was to get Zadran's men to stop setting up roadblocks. Their unauthorized roadblocks were interfering with the activieites of US troops. But Zadran's rivals thought McNeill had come to personally arrest Zadran, and chose that moment to launch an impromptu sneak attack. Over fifty people were reported to have been killed. of

[edit] Assassination attempts

Pacha Khan Zadran has been reported to have been the subject of several assassination attempts.^[4]

February 24, 2006	A bomb placed on Pacha Khan Zadran's route failed to explode.[4]
December 22, 2006	An attack against Pacha Khan Zadran's vehicle, attributed to the Taliban.[4] The attack was also attributed to one of Pacha Khan Zadran's regional rivals, renegade militia leader Maulvi Siraj-ud-Din Haqqani.[10] Pacha Khan Zadran's son, grandson and bodyguard were passengers in the vehicle, and were injured, as were five bystanders.[10] One injured individual subsequently died.
October 13, 2007	A suicide bomber is reported to have rammed his motoorcycle into Pacha Khan Zadran's car, killing six.[4]

[edit] See also

• Ziauddin
• Abdullah Mujahid

[edit] References

Preceded by None

Governor of Paktia Province, Afghanistan 2001–2002

Succeeded by Taj Mohammad Wardak