Habibullah Fawzi is a citizen of Afghanistan, who was a senior diplomat during the Taliban's administration of Afghanistan, and was appointed to the Afghanistan High Peace Council in September 2010.[1][2][3][4][5] Fawzi had served as the Charge D'Affairs at the Taliban's embassy in Saudi Arabia.[6]
Habibullah Fawzi | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Afghanistan High Peace Council | |
| Personal details | |
| Citizenship | Afghanistan |
| Nationality | Afghan |
| Political party | Taliban |
On 7 January 2002, Newsday described Habibullah as one of the senior Taliban leaders who had defected, went into exile in Pakistan, and were seeking a peaceful role in Afghanistan's politics.[7] The defectors revived a defunct political party, Jamiat Khudamul Furgan, translated as "Association of the servants of the Quran".[8]
In 2005 Habibullah, and three other former Taliban leaders described as moderates, Abdul Hakim Mujahid, Arsullah Rahmani and Rahmatullah Wahidyar met with officials of the Hamid Karzai administration to discuss the possible surrender of active Taliban fighters.[6] Radio Free Europe interviewed Habibullah in March 2005.[9] In an interview published on 4 March 2005 Radio Free Europe, Habibullah said that the moderates had been in talks with the Karzai administration for the previous two years.
Habibullah, and the other three men had been named on the United Nations 1267 list, a list of several hundred individuals upon whom member nations were to impose financial sanctions because they were suspected of playing a role in international terrorism.[4] The list was first published in 1999. The United Nations removed Habibullah and the other three men in July 2011.[1]
In September 2011 Habibullah was one of the former Taliban officials who offered details as to how a Taliban messenger had assassinated Burnahuddin Rabbani, the former President of Afghanistan who chaired the High Peace Council.[10]
“...wearing Afghan style clothes – shalwar kamez and turban – came from Quetta to Kabul with a message of peace from the Taliban. He met Rabbani and Stanekzai. Rabbani was expecting him. He was supposed to be a key member of the Taliban. They discussed peace and after the meeting was over Rabbani stood up to wish this man goodbye. Rabbani and the Talib hugged and that was when he blew himself up.”
References
edit- ^ a b David Ariosto (16 July 2011). "14 ex-Taliban members removed from U.N. sanctions". CNN. Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
- ^ "High Peace and Reconciliation Council". High Peace and Reconciliation Council. 28 December 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
- ^ Abdul Qadir Siddique (29 September 2010). "Peace council members named". Pajhwok Afghan News. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
- ^ a b John R. Bolton, Denied Persons Pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution, United States Federal Registry, 2003, accessdate = 3 November 2010
- ^ "UN removes 14 Taliban members from sanctions list". Dawn. 16 July 2011.
- ^ a b
Ron Synovitz (8 January 2009). "Afghanistan: A First Step Toward 'Turning' Moderate Taliban?". Radio Free Europe.
Afghan authorities met with four former senior Taliban leaders, thought to be moderate members of the ousted regime, in a bid to get more hardened fighters to surrender. The Taliban's former unofficial envoy to the UN, Abdul Hakim Mujahid, former Deputy Higher Education Minister Arsullah Rahmani, former Deputy Minister of Refugees Rahmatullah Wahidyar, and Habibullah Fawzi, former charge d'affaires at the Afghan Embassy in Saudi Arabia, met with authorities in Kabul.
- ^
Mohamad Bazzi (7 January 2002). "Taliban by Any Other Name?". Newsday. Archived from the original on 1 February 2013.
Their choice of a venue for the December announcement highlighted the presence of many ex-Taliban leaders who not only had sought refuge in Pakistan but also intended to resume political activities. To many analysts, the group's public presence in Pakistan underscored this country's long history of support for the Taliban and Islamabad's uneasiness about the makeup of the new Afghan government.
- ^ Satyabrata Rai Chowdhuri (5 April 2002). "Taliban in a new name?". Daily Excelsior. Archived from the original on 11 February 2012.
- ^
Sultan Sarwar, Golnaz Esfandiari (4 March 2005). "Afghanistan: RFE/RL Interviews Former Taliban Involved In Reconciliation Talks". Radio Free Europe.
Habibullah Fawzi, a former Taliban diplomat at the Afghan Embassy in Riyadh, is one of four senior former Taliban members who have responded to an amnesty offer by the Afghan government. In an exclusive interview with RFE/RL, he explains his motivations and plans for the future.
- ^ Lianne Gutcher, Dean Nelson (20 September 2011). "Turban bomber kills former Afghan president". The Telegraph (UK).