Haji Ghalib

Haji Ghalib
Born	1963 Nangarhar, Afghanistan
Occupation(s)	Government official, security leader
Known for	Former Guantanamo detainee; anti-Taliban resistance leader

Haji Ghalib is an Afghan national who was subjected to extrajudicial detention at the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps located in Cuba. He was assigned the Guantanamo Internment Serial Number 987. Analysts approximate his birth year as 1963 in Nangarhar, Afghanistan. Ghalib was returned to Afghanistan on February 28, 2007.

His transfer to Guantanamo resulted from anonymous accusations. Throughout his detention, Ghalib asserted his loyalty as a government official. Following his repatriation, Afghan authorities reinstated him in high-level security positions, where he emerged as a prominent opponent of insurgent factions threatening the central government.

Combatant Status Review Tribunal

The Bush administration initially maintained that detainees captured during the war on terror did not qualify for protections under the Geneva Conventions. This position was legally contested, leading to demands for proper tribunals to evaluate detainees' prisoner of war status.

Consequently, the United States Department of Defense instituted Combatant Status Review Tribunals. These tribunals were designed not to establish lawful combatant status but rather to determine if individuals met the Bush administration’s criteria for being classified as an enemy combatant.

Summary of Evidence memo

On October 1, 2004, a Summary of Evidence memo was compiled for Ghalib's Combatant Status Review Tribunal. The document outlined the specific allegations against him:

Transcript

Ghalib took part in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal proceedings. On March 3, 2006, the Department of Defense published a ten-page summarized transcript of the hearing.

Witness and document requests

Ghalib sought testimony from three witnesses and requested evidence that could exonerate him. One witness, fellow detainee Kako Kandahari, was scheduled to appear in person. The other two witnesses and the documents he requested were located in Afghanistan. The Tribunal president informed Ghalib that the Department of Defense had contacted the US State Department, which was coordinating with the Afghan Embassy and Afghan Civil Service to locate these individuals.

This request was dispatched on October 13, 2004, with a response deadline of November 8. By the time of the Tribunal on November 24, no reply had been received; therefore, the president determined that those witnesses and documents were "not reasonably available."

Testimony

During his testimony, Ghalib denied any affiliation with the Taliban, stating he had actively fought against them for eight years under leaders Haji Abdul Cades and Haji Abdul Haq. He recounted witnessing Abdul Haq’s death and emphasized his close association with Abdul Cades. Ghalib requested that Haji Bemohab Mohammed, Governor of Jalalabad, and Haji Mohammed Sahara, both recognized by American officials, be called as witnesses to support his defense.

He claimed responsibility for capturing numerous Arabs and Taliban fighters and handing them over to U.S. forces. Additionally, he participated in an operation targeting the destruction of Osama bin Laden's residence. Ghalib indicated that documentary and video evidence held in Afghanistan could substantiate his innocence.

Ghalib expressed shock at being accused of possessing correspondence from a Taliban leader. He explained that approximately two months before his capture, a commander named Mr. Hadrataly had falsely accused him to American authorities, likely motivated by political rivalry amid Afghanistan’s reconstruction efforts.

After becoming aware of this letter, Ghalib traveled to Kabul to seek intervention from a senior official connected with American authorities. Upon returning, he discovered that Americans had inspected and emptied armories overseen by Haji Jabar, the District Manager. However, Ghalib managed a sealed armory that had not been examined by U.S. personnel. A few days later, he was detained in his office.

Administrative Review Board hearing

Individuals designated as "enemy combatants" were subject to yearly Administrative Review Board hearings intended to determine whether they continued to pose a threat or if they could be safely repatriated or released. These hearings did not reconsider the detainees' POW status nor their original enemy combatant designation.

Summary of Evidence memo

For Ghalib’s Administrative Review Board hearing held on July 25, 2005, a Summary of Evidence memo was prepared, detailing reasons supporting his continued detention:

Reasons supporting release or transfer included:

Transcript

Ghalib opted to take part in his Administrative Review Board hearing. In April 2006, the Department of Defense made public a 13-page summarized transcript documenting the proceedings.

Board recommendations

In early September 2007, the Department of Defense disclosed two extensively redacted memos from Ghalib’s Board addressed to Gordon England, the Designated Civilian Official. Although the Board’s recommendation was unanimous, its content remained largely concealed. On October 22, 2005, England approved Ghalib's transfer.

Repatriation

On November 25, 2009, the Department of Defense released a list specifying detainee transfer dates from Guantanamo Bay. This record indicates that Ghalib Hassan was transferred on February 8, 2007. He is acknowledged as a prominent figure in the anti-Taliban resistance under Abdul Haq’s leadership. Additionally, his tribe, the Shinwari, has entered into an Anti-Taliban agreement.

Return to the battlefield

According to Ghalib’s Guantanamo file, U.S. authorities feared he might "return to the battlefield"; however, upon release he emerged as a committed leader loyal to Afghanistan’s central government.

A New York Times feature dated November 27, 2015, emphasized that Joint Task Force Guantanamo had anticipated his potential return to armed conflict following release. Nevertheless, Joseph Goldstein observed that Ghalib overcame resentment regarding his detention and concentrated on serving his country by leading efforts against both Taliban forces and rising ISIS factions within Afghanistan.

The article drew a comparison between Ghalib and Abdul Rahim Muslimdost, another former Guantanamo detainee who later became a senior ISIS commander in Afghanistan. The two men had shared adjacent cells at Guantanamo; Muslimdost was cleared as not being an enemy combatant in 2004, whereas Ghalib remained detained for an additional two and a half years without clearance.

Early in his resistance against the Taliban, many of Ghalib’s family members were assassinated by Taliban operatives. Senior Taliban figures subsequently proposed eliminating the lower-ranking commanders responsible for these killings if Ghalib agreed to cease fighting; he refused this offer.

Pakistan’s The Tribune also contrasted Ghalib with Muslimdost, highlighting their drastically different trajectories after release—Ghalib opposing insurgents in support of the government while Muslimdost assumed leadership within ISIS forces.

External links

• Shadow of Guantanamo follows freed inmates back to their homes
• Haji Ghalib Hassan – Video
• Ghalib Hassan – Guantanamo Inmate Database