Afghan Biographies

Noorzai, Bashir Haji


Name Noorzai, Bashir Haji
Ethnic backgr. Pashtun
Date of birth 1961
Function/Grade Noorzai tribal leader and drug lord
History and Biodata

3. Biodata:
Haji Bashir Noorzai Haji Basir Noorzai was born 1961 in Kandahar. He fought the Soviet forces that occupied Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. He was left in charge of Kandahar after Mullah Omar went into hiding.

Some influential Noorzai tribesmen hold key positions in the Kandahar Provincial government, including Aref Noorzai and his brother Brigadier Mirwais Noorzai who formerly served as Kandahar’s Provincial Chief of Police. Esham Noorzai, who is the deputy leader of the provincial council, is also a Noorzai and is the cousin of Aref and Mirwais. Other influential Noorzai include the former commander Ustad Abdul Halim and Hajji Bashir Noorzai, a former Hezb-i-Islami (Khalis) commander and supporter of the Taliban. He was incarcerated in the United States in 2008 on drug trafficking charges.

He provided explosives, weapons, and militia fighters to the Taliban regime. Noorzai was in Quetta when the September 11 attacks occurred, and soon afterwards returned to Afghanistan. In November 2001, he met with men he described as American military officials at Spinboldak, near the Afghan-Pakistani border. Small teams of U.S. Special Forces and intelligence officers were in Afghanistan at the time, seeking the support of tribal leaders. According to his lawyer, Noorzai was taken to Kandahar, where he was detained and questioned for six days by the Americans about Taliban officials and operations. He agreed to work with them and was freed, and in late January 2002 he handed over 15 truckloads of weapons, including about 400 anti-aircraft missiles, that had been hidden by the Taliban in his tribe's territory. On 1 June 2004, he was sanctioned under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act.

 

In April 2005, U.S. authorities in New York City arrested Noorzai. He was charged with trying to smuggle more than US$50 million worth of heroin into the United States. He is one of ten people and organizations on a U.S. list of most-wanted drug traffickers. Noorzai was represented at his 2008 trial by New York high-profile criminal defense lawyer Ivan Fisher. The case has raised substantial questions about U.S. foreign policy abroad. In 2008 Noorzai was convicted of smuggling $50 million worth of heroin into the United States. On April 30, 2009 he appeared before Judge Denny Chin, who sentenced Noorzai to life imprisonment. Noorzai told the trial he was lured to the US by agents who said they would give him safe passage to help them investigate terror financing. When he flew in, they questioned him in a hotel room for 11 days before finally arresting him.

The leadership vacuum in the drug trade, following Noorzai's capture, was filled by Juma Khan. Khan was, in turn, captured in 2010. Taliban officials said Noorzai had been released, in the United Arab Emirates, on July 16 2019.They reported that he would join Taliban peace negotiators, in Qatar. They incorrectly reported he had been released from the Guantanamo detention camp.
 

Sources reported with intra-Afghan talks expected Aug 16, 2020, the Trump administration is mulling the release of Haji Bashir Noorzai, an alleged drug kingpin with links to the Taliban. (20200813)

A senior Taliban figure, Haji Bashir Noorzai, has been released after decades of detention by the United States and arrived in Kabul on Monday, Sept 19, 2022, said Mohammad Naeem, a Taliban spokesperson based in Doha, in a tweet. Afghan state media reports said he had been among the last Afghans held at Guantanamo Bay detention camp.

According to a Taliban spokesman, he was released from prison in exchange for Mark Frerichs and arrived in Afghanistan on September 19, 2022.
 

 

Last Modified 2024-02-10
Established 2020-08-13