Taliban leaders Sunday tossed Abdul Haq's gunshot-riddled, hanged corpse into a grave unbecoming for an Afghan war hero and with him buried western hopes of stirring imminent revolt in Kabul.
The body of the former mujahidin commander feted for humbling the Soviet army was not handed to relatives in Pakistan, as promised, but buried in his Taliban-controlled home village of Surkhrud, east Afghanistan. Mourners at a memorial service in Peshawar, Pakistan, suggested his body was withheld to conceal evidence of torture before his execution on Friday.
Haq was intercepted by Taliban troops after infiltrating Afghanistan last week on a quixotic mission to woo defectors from the Islamist regime and rally support for the exiled king Zahir Shah.
Hours later he was tried and executed in Kabul with two companions.
A Pashtun renowned for courage and integrity, as well as vanity, he was widely considered the best candidate for splitting Pashtun tribes from the Taliban, which is why his death came as a blow to the US-led campaign. "We lost our brother, but our war will persevere," Hajji din Mohammed, Haq's brother, told Afghan opposition leaders at a prayer service at the family compound in Peshawar.
The Taliban had promised to hand over the body but when Haq's brothers went to retrieve it at the border they were told he had been buried in Surkhrud. Relatives will press for it to be exhumed and returned to Pakistan, but some doubted ever seeing it.
"Some are saying he was tortured and so the Taliban do not want anyone to see how this happened," said one mourner.
Hundreds of mujahidin veterans who fought with Haq against the Russians in the 1980s filed into the walled family compound Sunday for condolences and green tea under a marquee. Some blamed the US for not saving him from the ambush 20 miles (32km) inside Afghanistan after he phoned for help. Coordinates from his satellite phone were passed to the CIA, but missiles from an unmanned US drone failed to fend off his attackers.
"We all hate America," said one veteran, Dad Mohammad. "They always want to use us and our people, and then they abandon us."
Haq, 43, quit politics and the region when the victorious mujahidin disintegrated into civil war, but he returned to Pakistan last month convinced he could help form a replacement government in Kabul. As intended, his fate may discourage others from trying similar mission.
One relative said it was too risky even for family members to enter Afghanistan to seek his body's release.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College