Mohammad Fazl

Mullah Mohammad Fazl
Born	1967 Sekzi, Caher Cineh District, Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan
Occupation	Taliban official
Years active	1996–2001, 2021–present
Known for	First Deputy Defense Minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan; former Guantanamo Bay detainee

Mullah Mohammad Fazl ( ; born 1967) is a prominent Taliban official who currently holds the position of First Deputy Defense Minister within the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. He resumed this role on 7 September 2021. Fazl also occupied this post during the Taliban's earlier regime from 1996 until 2001.

Following his capture, Fazl was detained by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp for a period of 12 years, being designated as an enemy combatant. He was assigned Internment Serial Number 7 and was held from January 2002 until May 2014.

His release occurred through a notable prisoner swap involving four other senior Taliban members—Khairullah Khairkhwa, Abdul Haq Wasiq, Norullah Noori, and Mohammad Nabi Omari—exchanged for United States Army soldier Bowe Bergdahl, who had been captured by the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani network.

Early life

According to assessments by American intelligence officials, Fazl was born in 1967 in Sekzi, located within Caher Cineh District of Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan. He belongs to the Kakar Pashtun tribe and served as Deputy Minister of Defense during the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s rule between 1996 and 2001. During this time, he negotiated an amnesty agreement with Abdul Rashid Dostum, leader of the Northern Alliance. He has been accused of orchestrating the deaths of thousands of Shi'a Afghans during this period.

Held aboard the USS Bataan

Abdul Salam Zaeef, former Taliban Ambassador to Pakistan, recounted his own capture and subsequent transfer to the amphibious warfare ship of the United States Navy, the , where he underwent specialized interrogation. Zaeef described the confinement cells as being located six decks below, measuring approximately 1 by 2 meters, with detainees prohibited from communicating with one another. Despite these restrictions, he recognized fellow prisoners including Mullahs Fazl, Noori, Burhan, Wasseeq Sahib, and Rohani. Historian Andy Worthington, author of The Guantanamo Files, identified Fazl among these detainees.

Release negotiations

By 2009, most Afghan detainees had been repatriated. Toward late 2011 and early 2012, U.S. efforts to negotiate peace with the Taliban heavily focused on securing the release of Fazl alongside four other senior Taliban figures: Norullah Noori, Khirullah Khairkhwa, Abdul Haq Wasiq, and Mohammed Nabi. A central point of discussion was their transfer to facilitate ongoing talks.

The negotiations aimed to relocate these five individuals to Doha, Qatar, where they would establish an official Taliban political office. In March 2012, Ibrahim Spinzada—referred to as "Karzai's top aide"—obtained their consent for this transfer during a visit to Guantanamo. Although initially resistant, then-President Karzai eventually endorsed this plan.

Joint Review Task Force

Upon taking office in January 2009, President Barack Obama committed to ending torture practices at Guantanamo and introduced a new detainee review process involving six government departments instead of solely relying on the Department of Defense’s OARDEC reviews. One year later, the Joint Review Task Force designated certain detainees as too dangerous to release despite insufficient evidence for formal charges. This classification was disclosed publicly on April 9, 2013 following a FOIA request. Among the 71 detainees labeled as too innocent to prosecute but too risky to free was Mohammad Fazl. Although President Obama pledged that these individuals would be subject to Periodic Review Board evaluations, fewer than one-quarter have undergone such assessments.

Release

On June 1, 2014, Fazl, along with four other Taliban detainees, was freed in Qatar as part of a prisoner swap for U.S. Army soldier Bowe Bergdahl, who had been held by the Taliban for close to five years. As a stipulation of their release, Fazl and the other individuals were prohibited from departing Qatar for a period of one year. Despite this release, Human Rights Watch has called for Fazl to undergo investigation and face prosecution for alleged war crimes.

Following the restoration of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan on September 7, 2021, Fazl was appointed once again to the position of Deputy Defense Minister.

External links

• Who Are the Remaining Prisoners in Guantánamo? Part Two: Captured in Afghanistan (2001) Andy Worthington, September 17, 2010