Bashir Noorzai

Bashir Noorzai
NationalityAfghan
Other names
  • "Pablo Escobar of the Middle East"
OccupationDrug smuggler
Known forHelped the US negotiate with the Taliban

Bashir Noorzai is a convicted former Afghan drug lord.[1] He was an early supporter of the Taliban movement[2][citation needed] and later worked as an undercover agent on behalf of the U.S. government. Despite being among America's most wanted drug traffickers, he agreed to come to New York City for a debriefing after being promised by his handlers that he would not be arrested.[3] He was arrested ten days after his arrival.[3] In the aftermath of the take over of the country by the Taliban, the group demanded that the US release him in exchange with an American engineer, Mark Frerichs, who was kidnapped by the group in January 2020.[4]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference newyorker2015-12-06 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Zaeef, Abdul Salam (2010). My Life with the Taliban. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-231-70148-8.
  3. ^ a b Joel Cohen; Bennett L. Gershman (2007-12-12). "The Stinger Missile Sting: Why the government should keep its promises to bad guys like Haji Noorzai". Slate magazine.
  4. ^ O'Donnell, Lynne. "Taliban Pressing for Prisoner Swap With U.S." Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2022-01-07.