FACT BRIEF

Is a former Taliban prisoner released by Obama in 2014 now the ruler of Afghanistan?

Saturday, August 21, 2021

By Jacob Alabab-Moser

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No single figure has yet emerged as leader of Afghanistan following the Taliban assumption of control in August 2021. Media reports have focused on the potential role of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a Taliban leader released from prison in Pakistan in 2018 at the behest of the Trump administration. From Qatar, as the group’s “deputy chief for political affairs,” he led negotiations that culiminated in a U.S. commitment to withdraw, signing the January 2020 agreement with the U.S.

Khairullah Khairkhwa, another Talib who participated in the negotations, came to Qatar in 2014, after being freed from imprisonment at Guantanamo Bay. The Obama administration released him along with four other members of the group in exchange for the release of Bowe Berghdal, a U.S. soldier captured by the Taliban after deserting his post.

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Sources

AP News Mullah’s rise charts Taliban’s long road back to power

VOA News US, Taliban sign historic Afghan peace deal

AP News Taliban: 5 freed from US military prison now in Qatar office

New York Times Once jailed in Guantánamo, 5 Taliban now face US at peace talks

Sky News Afghanistan: Who's who in the new Taliban's inner circle

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