Abdul Salam Zaeef

Born in Kandahar Afghanistan 1 January 1967, Abdul Salam Zaeef fled to Pakistan in 1979 after the Russian invasion. In 1983 he joined the opposition against the Soviets. By the end of the war Abdul Salam returned to his home in Kandahar but civil war and a massive earthquake in 1991 forced him to flee to Pakistan again; on his return in 1992 he became Imam of a masjid in Kandahar. The chaos and faction fighting among the war lords after the Russian retreat led to his participation in discussions that led to the formation of the Taliban to restore order and calm.

In 1996 the Taliban took control of Kandahar, and Abdul Salam began working in the judiciary in the nascent Taliban government. From 1997-1999 he was entrusted with several critical posts from defence to the ministries of mines and industry and transport. In 1999 a military coup in Pakistan brought Musharraf to power and Abdul Salam was deployed to Islamabad as the Taliban Government’s Ambassador to that country. In 2001 after the 9/11 attacks in New York Abdul Salam was renditioned and taken to Guantanamo Bay prison.

Sheikh Abdul Salam Zaeef is also the author of My Life with the Taliban, which offers a view into his extraordinary life, and a counter-narrative to the standard accounts of Afghanistan since 1979.