Tags
Abdul Haq, Afghani, businessman, captured, Celebrity, execution, Humayoun Arsala, Kabul, mujahideen commander, murdered family, roundabout, Taliban, United Nations Peace Mediator
Abdul Haq (April 23, 1958 – October 26, 2001)
Born Humayoun Arsala, Adbul Haq was an Afghani mujahideen commander who fought against the Soviet-backed People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (the de facto government during the 1980s). When war broke out among Afghani warloads in the late 1990s, he left Afghanistan for Dubai to become a successful businessman in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. After the terrorist attacks in September 2001 and the assassination of Northern Alliance leader Ahmad Shah Masoud, Haq tried to dissuade Western allies from bombing Afghanistan. While attempting to negotiate with anti-Taliban supporters, he was captured by said Taliban and quickly executed as a spy. Haq was only 43 years old. His wife and one son were murdered in Hayatabad, Peshawar, Pakistan in January 1999, the year after Haq became a United Nations Peace Mediator. (His other son survived the raid at their home.) Haq has been honored with a roundabout named after him in northeastern Kabul.