Very important man to be eliminated so summarily..Afghan powerbrokers: Who's who....Abdul Haq (Pashtun)
A former Mujaheddin commander for Hezb-e Islami, he retired from the ongoing conflicts following the Soviet withdrawal in 1989.
The Taleban say they have executed Haq
His battlefield exploits gained him wide repute as well as many war wounds.
In 1999, during his attempts to create a moderate government in Afghanistan, his wife and 11-year-old son were killed at his home in Peshawar.
Before the Taleban said they had captured and executed Haq, reports suggested he was rallying support inside Afghanistan against the Taleban and hoped to assist in the country's new era.
He strongly disagreed with US military intervention in Afghanistan, believing it would create further problems from extremist Islamic groups.
Taleban
Mullah Mohammed Omar (Pashtun)
The religious leader of the Taleban movement. He was given the title of Amir al-Mo'menein or Commander of the Faithful - after he cloaked himself in a gown said to be that of the prophet Mohammed - after the fall of Kabul in 1996.
Originally a village mullah, he joined Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezb-e Islami and was blinded in one eye, possibly in factional fighting.
He helped to found the Taleban movement and presided over its military operations all over the country from his base in Kandahar until the beginning of the US bombing raids.
Wakil Ahmed Mutawakkil (Pashtun)
Press spokesman of Mullah Omar, he has swiftly risen through the ranks of the Taleban after being a driver and food taster.
Wakil Ahmed Mutawakkil: More moderate Taleban
He is widely seen as heading the moderate element within the Taleban.
Reports suggest that he disagreed with the destruction of the ancient pre-Islamic Buddhas at Bamiyan in central Afghanistan in May.
The moderate element also lost out with the death last year of Mullah Rabbani, who was second-in-command within the regime.
He is believed to have recently left Afghanistan for Pakistan.
Abdul Hakim Mujahid (Pashtun)
Acts as a point of contact between the Taleban and the United Nations in New York. The UN does not officially recognise the regime.
Amir Khan Muttaqi
A high-ranking member of the Taleban regime, he has held various posts, including minister of information and culture.
The Taleban has been strongly supported by Pakistan since its creation in 1994. Karachi recognised the Taleban as the government of Afghanistan in 1997.
The Taleban has also been backed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, but both states cut their ties with the regime following recent international pressure.
The Taleban has refused to hand over Osama Bin Laden, who the US blames for a string of attacks including the 11 September suicide hijackings.
United Front (Northern Alliance)
President Burhanuddin Rabbani (Tajik)
Political leader and nominal head of the Northern Alliance, which is officially known as the United National and Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan (Unifsa).
Burhanuddin Rabbani is still recognised by the UN as president
He is also the leader of Jamiat-e-Islami, the largest political party in the alliance.
He was elected president of the Islamic Council for one year by the Mujaheddin executive council in 1992.
He stayed on until 1996 when the Taleban occupied Kabul, and is still recognised as the president of Afghanistan by the UN and several countries.
His main remaining base is in the north-eastern province of Badakhshan, though he spends much of his time abroad.
General Mohammed Fahim (Tajik)
Fahim faces a tough task in following Massoud
Head of intelligence of the Northern Alliance replacement to General Ahmad Shah Massoud, who was assassinated shortly before the 11 September attacks on the US.
Fahim faces a difficult task. Massoud was regarded as a charismatic leader, and a stabilising influence on the often fractious Northern Alliance.
Abdullah Abdullah
Acting foreign minister of the United Front. A qualified doctor and fluent English speaker.
Rawan Farhadi
Permanent representative of the ousted government of Burhanuddin Rabbani to the United Nations.
General Rashid Dostum (Uzbek)
Head of Jombesh-e Melli Islami (National Islamic Movement), a predominantly Uzbek militia forming part of the Northern Alliance.
General Dostum turned against the Mujaheddin government
He was commander of the Juzjani Militia with 20,000 regular militia forces. He joined the Najibullah government fighting against the Mujaheddin before turning on them.
But within a couple of years he was targeting the newly formed Mujaheddin government in an effort to gain a greater role in the administration.
It is believed that Dostum receives the majority of Turkish assistance because of a common cultural heritage between Turks and Uzbeks.
He also visited Washington in 1995.
Click here to read a full profile
General Abdul Malik Pahlawan
He was second-in-command of the Jombesh militia until he tried to usurp Dostum's power by striking a deal with the Taleban.
He fled when Dostum returned to Afghanistan.
He is widely believed to have been responsible for the brutal massacre of up to 3,000 Taleban prisoners after inviting them into Mazar-e-Sharif.
Ismail Khan (Tajik)
Former governor of Herat and Mujaheddin commander during the Soviet occupation.
Ismail Khan:Thorn in the side of Soviet forces
He liberated his native Herat from Soviet control, and became a thorn in the side of the Afghan communist government.
Threatened by the Taleban, he drove them back towards Kandahar, only to expose himself by overstretching his forces.
When the Taleban finally took over Herat he was handed over to the Taleban by General Pahlawan after a deal in 1997. He escaped three years later.
He is technically part of the alliance, but until recently had not played much part in the fighting.
He is thought to be receiving backing from Iran.
His location is unknown. Some reports suggest he is currently in Iran, others say he is in Afghanistan.
His forces recently claimed they had entered Chaghcharan, capital of Ghor province.
Karim Khalili (Hazara)
Leader of the Hezb-e-Wahdat (Unity Party) which represents the Shia ethnic Hazara minority.
Wahdat is the main benefactor of Iranian support. However former leader Ali Mazari mysteriously died in Taleban custody after Wahdat turned to them for help against the Mujaheddin government.
Khalili is currently believed to be in central Afghanistan.
Abdul Rassoul Sayyaf
Leader of Islamic Union for the Liberation of Afghanistan which is part of the Northern Alliance.
Others
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar (Pashtun)
Leader of the Hezb-e Islami, Hekmatyar was the strongest force during the years of Soviet occupation.
This was largely because his party was the main benefactor of the seven official Mujaheddin groups recognised by Pakistan and US intelligence agencies for the channelling of money and arms.
Hekmatyar: Blamed for killing thousands in 1994
He later joined forces with General Dostum because he felt his power had been sleighted by the Mujaheddin administration which ran the country from 1992 to 1996.
His bombardment of the capital in 1994 is said to have resulted in the deaths of more than 25,000 civilians. He is currently in exile in Iran.
Younis Khalis (Pashtun)
A senior member of Hekmatyar's Hezb-e Islami. He is currently aligned with the Taleban, but some reports suggest he has voiced support for former king Zahir Shah's peace plan.
Pir Sayeed Ahmed Gailani (Pashtun)
He is a cleric who left Afghanistan after the communist revolution to found the National Islamic Front in Peshawar which became a member of the alliance forming the Mujaheddin government of 1992-96.
He is the spiritual leader of a minority Sufi Muslim sect. He is a relatively moderate Pashtun leader and reports say he has urged the former king to broaden his political base.
Abdul Qadir (Pashtun)
Former governor of Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan. He fled after a failed attempt to strike a deal with the Taleban in 1996.
He originally welcomed Osama Bin Laden when he arrived from Sudan in the mid-1990s.
Zahir Shah (Pashtun)
Former king of Afghanistan who was deposed by his cousin Daoud during a visit to Europe in 1973.
The former king is hoping to act as a steadying hand
As a Durrani Pashtun he has much support in the southern belt of Afghanistan and, some believe, because of ethnic ties, with regional leaders who have allied themselves with the Taleban.
The Taleban advocated the return of the king during their early days in 1994, but later reversed this position.
More recently the regime has warned Zahir Shah not to meddle in Afghan affairs.
Now exiled in Rome he has said he is ready to return to the region to assist in building a power-sharing administration in the near future.
His fourth son Mirwais Zahir is also interested in assisting in the task of rebuilding Afghanistan.
Abdul Wali
Top military official under Zahir Shah. He lives in Rome and is implicated in creating the former king's plan for peace. |
