Abdul Haq Wasiq Explained

Honorific-Prefix:Mullah
Abdul Haq Wasiq
Office:Acting Director of Intelligence
Status:Incumbent
Term Start:September 7, 2021
Predecessor:Office established
1Blankname:Leader
1Namedata:Hibatullah Akhundzada
Primeminister1:Hassan Akhund (acting)
Office2:Deputy Minister of Intelligence
Term Start2:c. 1996
Term End2:November 2001
2Blankname2:Leader
2Namedata2:Mohammed Omar
Primeminister2:Mohammed Rabbani
Abdul Kabir
Birth Date:[1]
Birth Place:Ghazni Province, Afghanistan
Party: Taliban
Allegiance: Taliban (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan)
Serviceyears:1996–2001
Battles:Afghan civil war
War in Afghanistan
Occupation:Politician, Taliban member

Abdul Haq Wasiq (in Pushto; Pashto pronounced as /ˈabdʊl haq wɑˈsɪq/; born 1971) is the Director of Intelligence of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan since September 7, 2021.[2] He was previously the Deputy Minister of Intelligence in the former Taliban government (1996–2001).[3] He was held in extrajudicial detention in the Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba, from 2002 to 2014. His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 4. American intelligence analysts estimate that he was born in 1971 in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan.

Abdul Haq Wasiq arrived at the Guantanamo detention camps on January 11, 2002, and he was held there until May 31, 2014.[4] [5] He was released, along with the other four members of the so-called Taliban FiveMohammad Fazl, Khairullah Khairkhwa, Norullah Noori, and Mohammad Nabi Omari—in exchange for the release of United States Army soldier Bowe Bergdahl, who had been held captive by the Taliban-aligned Haqqani network.[6] [7]

Held aboard the USS Bataan

Former Taliban Ambassador to Pakistan Abdul Salam Zaeef described being flown to the United States Navy's amphibious warfare vessel, the USS Bataan, for special interrogation.[8] Zaeef wrote that the cells were located six decks down and were only 1 meter by 2 meters. He wrote that the captives weren't allowed to speak with one another, but that he "eventually saw that Mullahs Fazal, Noori, Burhan, Wasseeq Sahib and Rohani were all among the other prisoners." Historian Andy Worthington, author of The Guantanamo Files, identified Wasiq as one of the men Zaeef recognized. He identified Mullah Rohani as Gholam Ruhani, Mullah Noori as Norullah Noori and Mullah Fazal as Mohammed Fazil.

Combatant Status Review

See main article: Combatant Status Review Tribunal.

Wasiq was among the 60% of prisoners who participated in the Combatant Status Review Tribunal hearings.[9] A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for the tribunal of each detainee.

Wasiq's memo accused him of the following:[10]

Administrative Review Board hearings

Detainees who were determined to have been properly classified as "enemy combatants" were scheduled to have their dossier reviewed at annual Administrative Review Board hearings. The Administrative Review Boards weren't authorized to review whether a detainee qualified for POW status and they weren't authorized to review whether a detainee should have been classified as an "enemy combatant".

The members of the Administrative Review Board were authorized to consider whether a detainee should continue to be detained by the United States because the detainee continued to pose a threat, whether the detainee could safely be repatriated to his home country, or whether the detainee should be released.

First annual Administrative Review Board

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Abdul Haq Wasiq's first annual Administrative Review Board, on July 18, 2005.[11] The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.

The following primary factors favor continued detention

The following primary factors favor release or transfer

Joint Review Task Force

When he assumed office in January 2009, President Barack Obama made a number of promises about the future of Guantanamo.[12] [13] [14] He promised the use of torture would cease at the camp. He promised to institute a new review system. That new review system was composed of officials from six departments, where the OARDEC reviews were conducted entirely by the Department of Defense. When it reported back, a year later, the Joint Review Task Force classified some individuals as too dangerous to be transferred from Guantanamo, even though there was no evidence to justify laying charges against them. On April 9, 2013, that document was made public after a Freedom of Information Act request.[15] Abdul Haq Wasiq was one of the 71 individuals deemed too innocent to charge, but too dangerous to release. Although Obama promised that those deemed too innocent to charge, but too dangerous to release would start to receive reviews from a Periodic Review Board less than a quarter of men have received a review.

Press reports

An article in The Christian Science Monitor quotes Ahmadullah, who was told by Mohammed Omar to go back to Kandahar.[16] It quotes him:

"He called me twice to come to Kandahar. But I cannot go there easily, because a lot of people know me, and I am frightened they will capture me somewhere on the road.[16] So I sent my assistant Mullah Abdul Haq Wasiq to Kandahar. Unfortunately he was captured by American agents in Ghazni."

Release negotiations

Most Afghans held at Guantanamo had been repatriated to Afghanistan by 2009.[17] Throughout the fall of 2011 and the winter of 2012, the United States conducted peace negotiations with the Taliban and widely leaked that a key sticking point was the ongoing detention of Wasiq and four other senior Taliban, Norullah Noori, Mohammed Fazl, Khirullah Khairkhwa and Mohammed Nabi.[18] [19] [20] Negotiations hinged on a proposal to send the five men directly to Doha, Qatar, where they would be allowed to set up an official office for the Taliban.

In March 2012, it was reported that Ibrahim Spinzada, described as "Karzai's top aide" had spoken with the five men in Guantanamo earlier that month, and had secured their agreement to be transferred to Qatar.[20] It was reported that Karzai, who had initially opposed the transfer, now backed the plan. It was reported that US officials stated the Obama administration had not yet agreed to transfer the five men.

Release from Guantanamo Bay

Wasiq and the other four members of the Taliban Five were released from Guantanamo Bay and transported to Qatar where they were set free on June 1, 2014. Their release concurred with that of captured U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl's release in eastern Afghanistan in a deal brokered by the Emir of Qatar. Wasiq, and the other members of the Taliban five, were required to stay in Qatar for 12 months as a condition of their release.[21]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: JTF- GTMO Detainee Assessment. Department of Defense. 8 April 2023. 21 January 2008.
  2. Web site: 2021-09-07. Factbox: Taliban announces makeup of new Afghan government. 2021-09-12. Reuters. en.
  3. News: 2014-06-01. Taliban's Mullah Omar celebrates prisoner-swap 'victory'. en-GB. BBC News. 2021-09-12.
  4. Web site: Measurements of Heights and Weights of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba . . JTF-GTMO . JTF-GTMO . 2007-03-16 . 2008-12-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090125010428/http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/measurements/ . 25 January 2009 . dead.
  5. Web site: Terror suspects freed by Obama admin. for soldier were labeled 'high risk' in 2008: report - Washington Times. The Washington Times.
  6. News: Taliban's Mullah Omar celebrates prisoner-swap 'victory'. BBC News. June 2014.
  7. News: Guantanamo Docket: Abdul Haq Wasiq. The New York Times. 2008-11-03. Margot Williams. Margot Williams.
  8. News: Torture and Abuse on the USS Bataan and in Bagram and Kandahar: An Excerpt from "My Life with the Taliban" by Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef . 2010 . Abdul Salam Zaeef . Abdul Salam Zaeef . https://web.archive.org/web/20110828062046/http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/2010/12/12/torture-and-abuse-on-the-uss-bataan-and-in-bagram-and-kandahar-an-excerpt-from-my-life-with-the-taliban-by-mullah-abdul-salam-zaeef/ . 2011-08-28 . We were not permitted to talk to each other, but could see one another while the food was handed to us. I eventually saw that Mullahs Fazal, Noori, Burhan, Wasseeq Sahib and Rohani were all among the other prisoners, but still we could not talk to each other. . dead.
  9. [OARDEC]
  10. Summarized transcripts (.pdf)
  11. Web site: Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Wasiq, Abdul Haq . 18 July 2005 . OARDEC . OARDEC . 1–2 . . 2007-11-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071202034131/http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/ARB_Round_1_Factors_000001-000098.pdf#1 . 2 December 2007 . dead.
  12. News: Justice task force recommends about 50 Guantanamo detainees be held indefinitely . Peter Finn . Washington Post . January 22, 2010 . July 21, 2010 . 2015-05-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150504225142/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/21/AR2010012104936.html . live.
  13. News: Most Guantanamo detainees low-level fighters, task force report says . Peter Finn . Washington Post . May 29, 2010 . July 21, 2010 . 2015-05-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150510052105/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/28/AR2010052803873.html . live.
  14. Web site: Andy Worthington. Does Obama Really Know or Care About Who Is at Guantánamo?. June 11, 2010. July 21, 2010. 2010-06-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20100616161842/http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/2010/06/11/does-obama-really-know-or-care-about-who-is-at-guantanamo. live.
  15. News: 71 Guantanamo Detainees Determined Eligible to Receive a Periodic Review Board as of April 19, 2013. Joint Review Task Force. 2013-04-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150519230955/https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1020057-guantanamo-parole-list.html. 2015-05-19. 2015-05-18. live .
  16. News: Al Qaeda planning next phase. 2001-12-28. The Christian Science Monitor. 2009-07-15.
  17. News: There's more to peace than Taliban . . 2012-01-10 . 2012-01-11 . Nevertheless, Iranian media insist that three high-ranking Taliban leaders have been released - Mullah Khairkhawa, former interior minister; Mullah Noorullah Noori, a former governor; and Mullah Fazl Akhund, the Taliban's chief of army staff - in exchange for an American soldier held by the Taliban. . M K Bhadrakumar . unfit . https://web.archive.org/web/20120112031913/http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/NA12Df01.html . 2012-01-12.
  18. News: Guantanamo Taliban inmates 'agree to Qatar transfer' . . 2012-03-10 . 2012-03-12 . If the president pursues this strategy, though, he will need support from wary politicians in Congress, our correspondent says. Many there see a transfer of what they call the most dangerous inmates at Guantanamo as a step too far, he adds. . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120312214224/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17327440 . 2012-03-12.
  19. News: Taliban prisoners at Guantánamo OK transfer . . 2012-03-12 . 2012-03-12 . Five top Taliban leaders held by the U.S. in the Guantánamo Bay military prison told a visiting Afghan delegation they agree to a proposed transfer to the tiny Gulf state of Qatar, opening the door for a possible move aimed at bringing the Taliban into peace talks, Afghan officials said Saturday. . Rahim Faiez, Anne Gearan . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120325215953/http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/10/2688491/taliban-prisoners-at-guantanamo.html . 2012-03-25.
  20. News: Taliban Guantanamo detainees agree to Qatar transfer - official . . 2012-03-10 . 2012-03-12 . Karzai's top aide, Ibrahim Spinzada, visited the Guantanamo facility this week to secure approval from the five Taliban prisoners to be moved to Qatar. . Hamid Shalizi . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120312035549/http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/03/10/afghanistan-guantanamo-taliban-idINDEE82905620120310 . 2012-03-12.
  21. News: American soldier held captive in Afghanistan is now free. 1 June 2014. MSNBC.