Abdul Qadir (Afghan leader)

Infobox revolution biography
name = Abdul Qadir Arsala
lived = c. 1951 – 2002


caption = Former leader in the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan. He was also alleged to have significant connections with those engaged in the poppy trade
alternate name = Haji Abdul Qadir

Hajji Abdul Qadir Arsala (c. 1951 in Jalalabad, Afghanistan-July 6, 2002 in Kabul, Afghanistan) ( _ar. الحاج عبد القادر) was a former leader in the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan. 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. He was also alleged to have significant connections with those engaged in Afghanistan's opium poppy trade. cite news
url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/afghanistan/story/0,1284,751329,00.html
title=Abdul Qadir: Key leader in Afghan struggle
publisher=The Guardian
author=Meena Baktash
date=July 8 2002
accessdate=2007-12-31]

Qadir joined with two other leaders, Hazrat Ali and Hajji Mohammed Zaman, to form the Eastern Shura.cite news
url=http://www.atimes.com/c-asia/CL07Ag02.html
title=Taking a spin in Tora Bora
publisher=Asia Times
author=Pepe Escobar
date=December 7 2001
accessdate=2007-12-31] 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.

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.cite news
url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/41737.htm
title=Afghanistan
publisher=US Department of State
date=February 28 2005
accessdate=2007-12-19]

Qadir's family was a traditionally powerful one, with ties to former king Zahir Shah.cite news
url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/DG09Ag02.html
title=A body blow to U.S.
publisher=Asia Times
author=Syed Saleem Shahzad
date=July 9 2002
accessdate=2007-12-31]

Abdul Qadir's son Zahir Qadir is a military leader in Hamid Karzai's government.cite news
url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/afghanistan/story/0,,805559,00.html
title=A year of living on the edge
publisher=The Guardian
date=October 6, 2002
accessdate=2007-12-31] cite news
url=http://www.outlookindia.com/pti_news.asp?gid=40&id=95776
title=Pak seals border temporarily following shootout in Afghanistan
publisher=Outlook India
date=November 8 2002
accessdate=2007-12-19] cite news
url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/07/18/wafg118.xml
title=Border clashes open new Afghan front line
publisher=The Telegraph
date=July 18 2003
accessdate=2007-12-19]

Another of his sons, Haji Mohammed Zaher, was shot dead in Kabul, in 2002.

ee also

*Maulvi Yunus Khalis
*Afridi
*Zahir Shah
*Abdurrashid Dostum
*Qasim Fahim
*Ahmed Shah Masoud

References

External links

* [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2002/11680.htm US State Department press release after his assassination]
* [http://securitydriver.com/aic/stories/article-103.html A detailed analysis of Qadir's death from a security standpoint]
* [http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/qanda/articles/eav061902.shtml Interview with Qadir less than a month before his death]
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6585871 Haji Abdul Qadir on Find-A-Grave]