Qari Saifullah Akhtar
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Qari Saifullah Akhtar (; born 1960 – died 9 January 2017) was an alleged member of
Al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...
who was in
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
i custody a few times prior to his death. Akhtar, a graduate of
Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia (, ''Jāmiā Ulūm-i Islāmīyā'' / , ''Jāmi‘at-ul-‘Ulūm-ul-Islāmīyah'') is an Islamic University in Binori Town, Banoori Town, Karachi, Pakistan. The university continues the tradition of the Darul Uloom system ...
in
Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...
, had been the leader of Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI), a
jihad ''Jihad'' (; ) is an Arabic word that means "exerting", "striving", or "struggling", particularly with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it encompasses almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with God in Islam, God ...
i organization. He was a key figure and founder of HUJI and was involved in jihadi groups since the early 1980s. He was appointed the head of HUJI following the killing of Mawlana Irshad Ahmed at Sharana during clashes with Soviet forces in June 1985. He was reportedly involved in the 1995 coup attempt to topple the Pakistani government led by
Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto (21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990, and again from 1993 to 1996. She was also the first woman elected to head a democratic governmen ...
. When HUJI merged with Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HUM) around 1990 to form Harkat-ul-Ansar (HUA), Akhtar acted as deputy to former HUM leader and then amir Maulana Fazalur Rehman Khalil. HUA splintered into two separate groups in 1997, allowing Akhtar to become amir of HUJI. Since 1998 when
Osama bin Laden Osama bin Laden (10 March 19572 May 2011) was a militant leader who was the founder and first general emir of al-Qaeda. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, Bin Laden participated in the Afghan ''mujahideen'' against the Soviet Union, and support ...
released a
fatwa A fatwa (; ; ; ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (sharia) given by a qualified Islamic jurist ('' faqih'') in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist issuing fatwas is called a ''mufti'', ...
under the banner World Islamic Front for Jihad Against the Jews and Crusaders, segments of HUJI have joined al-Qaeda. It has been reported that Akhtar was running a training camp at Rishkhor,
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
before the US invaded Afghanistan in 2001, and had trained 3,500 persons in conventional and unconventional combat. He disappeared from Afghanistan but was apprehended in August 2004 in the
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
. He was then handed over to Pakistan. A petition was filed in the Supreme Court by Akhtar's brother-in-law, Abdur Rehman Mahmood, on 12 October 2004, challenging Akhtar's arrest and seeking his appearance before the court. The petitioner also sought a court order to prevent possible deportation of Akhtar to another country. The petition was thrown out on 18 January 2005. The petitioner was instructed to move the High Court by filing a habeas corpus writ petition. "You first invoke the jurisdiction of a high court and if it gets dismissed there only then you come to the top court," said Justice Falak Sher. "We can’t entertain a direct writ petition at this stage." However, the bench, consisting of Javed Iqbal and Mian Shakirullah Jan, ordered the government to submit comprehensive replies in the cases of several people, including that of Akhtar, who had been arrested on suspicion of terrorism. On 21 May 2007, Akhtar reached his hometown of Mandi Bahauddin, after reportedly being released by an intelligence agency earlier that morning. The ''Daily Times'' reported, "He was thrown out of a car in a deserted area near Chakwal." According to the ''Dawn'' newspaper, Akhtar was arrested in
Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...
on 26 February 2008 for his alleged involvement in the attempted
assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...
of
Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto (21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990, and again from 1993 to 1996. She was also the first woman elected to head a democratic governmen ...
in
Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...
on 18 October 2007. "He is involved in the blasts in Karsaz. Therefore he has been arrested," Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz told The Associated Press, referring to the area in Karachi where the bombing happened. Mr. Nawaz added that three other men, identified by Akhtar as his sons, were also arrested. Akhtar was ordered freed from custody 26 March 2008 for lack of evidence. That September he was suspected to be involved in the Islamabad Marriott Hotel bombing. Akhtar was re-arrested in August 2010 after he was injured in a drone strike but was re-released four months later. The Afghan
National Directorate of Security The National Directorate of Security (NDS; ; ) was the national intelligence agency, intelligence and security agency, security service of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The headquarters of the NDS was in Kabul, and it had field offices and ...
confirmed that Akhtar was killed in a raid in Nawa District,
Ghazni Province Ghazni (; ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in southeastern Afghanistan. The province contains 19 Districts of Afghanistan, districts, encompassing over a thousand villages and roughly 1.3 million people, making it the 5th most ...
on 9 January 2017. However, Pakistani press reported that he was killed in Barmal District,
Paktika Province Paktika (Pashto: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the eastern part of the country. Forming part of the larger Loya Paktia region, Paktika has a population of about 789,000 residents, who are mostly ethnic Pashtuns but sma ...
the same day. He was sanctioned as a
Specially Designated Global Terrorist A Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) is a person or entity that has been designated as such by the United States Department of State or the U.S. Department of the Treasury. An SDGT designation is made under authority of U.S. Executive ...
under the
Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List The Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, also known as the SDN List, is a United States government sanctions/embargo measure targeting U.S.-designated terrorists, officials and beneficiaries of certain authoritarian regimes, a ...
by the
United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the Treasury, national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current United States federal executive departments, U.S. government departments. ...
's
Office of Foreign Assets Control The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is a financial intelligence and enforcement agency of the United States Department of the Treasury, United States Treasury Department. It administers and enforces economic and trade economic sanctions, ...
; his year of birth being listed as either 1964 or from 1963 to 1965, with a place of birth in Daraz Jaldak, Qalat District, Zabul Province, Afghanistan and a citizenship of Afghanistan and further address in Quetta, Pakistan. He was from the Tokhi tribe of Pashtuns while his title '' qari'' means a reciter of Quran.


References


External links


"Profile of Qari Saifullah Akhtar"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akhtar, Qari Saifullah 1960s births 2017 deaths Pakistani al-Qaeda members Year of birth uncertain Afghan Islamists People from Zabul Province Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List Individuals designated as terrorists by the United States government Leaders of jihadist groups Pashtun people Mujahideen members of the Soviet–Afghan War People of the Kashmir conflict Kashmiri militants