Abdul Malik Pahlawan

Abdul Malik Pahlawan (Persian: عبدالملک پهلوان) is an Afghan Uzbek leader and politician based in Faryab Province in northern Afghanistan. He is the head of the Afghanistan Liberation Party and was heavily involved in the factional fighting that consumed Afghanistan throughout the 1990s. His rival for the control of the Uzbek north is Rashid Dostum, and their militias have clashed several times since the fall of the Taliban.

Abdul Malik Pahlawan
عبدالملک پهلوان
Born
Faryab Province, Afghanistan
NationalityAfghanistani

Capture of Mazar-i-Sharif

Initially, Abdul Malik was one of Dostum's subordinates, but in 1996 he blamed Dostum for the murder of his brother, General Rasul Pahlawan. He then entered into secret negotiations with the Taliban, who promised to respect his authority over much of Northern Afghanistan, in exchange for the capture of Ismail Khan, one of their most powerful enemies. Accordingly, on May 25, 1997, he arrested Khan and handed him over and let the Taliban enter Mazar-i-Sharif, giving them control over most of Northern Afghanistan. Because of this, Dostum was forced to flee to Turkey. However Malik quickly decided that the Taliban were not going to keep their promises as they started to disarm his men. He then rejoined forces with the United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan (the Northern Alliance), and turned against his erstwhile allies, helping to drive them from Mazar-i-Sharif.

Political career

After the fall of the Taliban in 2001, Pahlawan founded his political party, Hezb-e Azadi-ye Afghanistan. His party's military wing has often clashed with members of Dostum's Junbish party. Despite his controversial past, Pahlawan has since become a prominent political figure in Afghanistan.

Education sector contribution

In addition to his political career, Abdul Malik Pahlawan is the founder of Taj University, one of the largest private universities in Afghanistan located in the northern part of the country. His contributions to the education sector in Afghanistan through the establishment of Taj University have been widely recognized.

In September 1997, Dostum returned from exile and defeated Malik, briefly regaining control of Mazar-i-Sharif, and forcing him to escape to Iran in December 1997.[1]

After the fall of the Taliban in 2001, Malik organized his Hezb-e Azadi-ye Afghanistan political party, whose military wing has often clashed with members of Dostum's Junbish party.[2]

See also

References
  1. UN Security Council report (17 March 1998). "La situation en Afghanistan et ses conséquences pour la paix et la sécurité internationales" (in French). Human Rights Internet. Archived from the original on March 14, 2005. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  2. Tarzi, Amin. "Afghanistan: Government Turns Its Sights On Northern resistance(Monday, August 21, 2006)". Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty. Archived from the original on 14 March 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
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