Noorullah Noori نورالله نوری | |
|---|---|
 Noori while detained at Guantanamo Bay | |
| Minister of Borders and Tribal Affairs | |
Acting | |
| Assumed office 7 September 2021 | |
| Prime Minister | Mohammad Hassan Akhund |
| Leader | Hibatullah Akhundzada |
| Preceded by | Abdul Karim Brahui |
| Governor of Balkh | |
| In office October 2000 – December 2001 | |
| Prime Minister | Mohammad Rabbani |
| Leader | Mohammed Omar |
| Succeeded by | Maulvi Qudratullah (2021) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1967 (age 56–57)[1] Shajoie, Afghanistan |
| Political party | Taliban |
| Occupation | Politician, Taliban member |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan |
| Branch/service | Islamic Army of Afghanistan |
| Years of service | 1994-2001 |
| Battles/wars | Afghan civil war War in Afghanistan |
Mullah Noorullah Noori (Pashto: نورالله نوري [nʊrʊˈlɑ nʊˈri]; born 1967) is a militant and Minister of Borders and Tribal Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan since 7 September 2021.[2] He was also the Taliban's Governor of Balkh Province during their first rule (1996–2001).[3][4][5][6][7] Noori spent more than 12 years in the United States's Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.[8] Noori was released from the detention camp on May 31, 2014, in a prisoner exchange that involved Bowe Bergdahl and the Taliban Five, and flown to Qatar.[9]
2001 press reports describe General Rashid Dostum bringing Noori with him when he toured the ruins of the Qala-i-Jangi fortress, after over 400 captives died there in what is usually described as a failed prison uprising. Noori was reported to have ordered the Taliban fighters in his jurisdiction to peacefully surrender to Dostum's Northern Alliance forces.
Noori arrived at Guantanamo on January 11, 2002, and was held there for 12 years.[10][11][12] The allegations used to justify his detention in Guantanamo asserted he was an interim Provincial Governor of Jalalabad, temporary governor of Mazar-i-Sharif and Governor of Balkh Province.[13][14] Noorullah has been listed by the United Nations 1267 Committee since January 25, 2001.[7]
Throughout the fall of 2011 and the winter of 2012, the United States conducted peace negotiations with the Taliban and widely leaked was that a key sticking point was the ongoing detention of Noorullah and four other senior Taliban.[3][15] Negotiations hinged on a proposal to send the five men directly to Doha, Qatar, where they would be allowed to set up an official office for the Taliban.
- ^ JTF- GTMO Detainee Assessment Department of Defense
- ^ "Factbox: Taliban announces makeup of new Afghan government". Reuters. 2021-09-07. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
- ^ a b
M K Bhadrakumar (2012-01-10). "There's more to peace than Taliban". Asia Times. Archived from the original on 2012-01-12. Retrieved 2012-01-11.
Nevertheless, Iranian media insist that three high-ranking Taliban leaders have been released - Mullah Khairkhawa, former interior minister; Mullah Noorullah Noori, a former governor; and Mullah Fazl Akhund, the Taliban's chief of army staff - in exchange for an American soldier held by the Taliban.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "More than 400 killed in fortress battle". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 2001-11-29. p. A1, A11. Retrieved 2012-01-11.
Dostum later toured the area with a couple of surrendered Taliban leaders from Kunduz. Noorullah Noori, former governor of Balkh province where Mazar-e-Sharif is located, claimed the revolt had not been planned. He said he had told the fighters "to submit your guns and armaments to Gen. Dostum's forces" and surrender. "I feel sad about these events. It was really in vain," he said. "It shouldn't have happened."
[permanent dead link] - ^
"US Likely to Release Top Taliban Leaders from Gitmo". Outlook Afghanistan. 2012-01-05. Archived from the original on 2012-01-12. Retrieved 2012-01-12.
According to Haqyar, Mullah Noorullah Noori was a resident of Shah Joy district in Zabul province and had served as governor for Laghman, Baghlan and Balkh provinces. Mullah Fazil and Noori had an agreement with Gen. Dustam that the Taliban fighters would be evacuated from north safely, but Dustam in violation of that agreement handed both Mullah Fazil and Noori to the US, Haqyar said. The two are very important personalities for the Taliban, who wanted them to be part of the peace talks with the US, he said.
- ^
Carlotta Gall (2001-11-29). "At Site of Quelled Prisoner Revolt, Afghan Fort's Walls Tell a Tale of Death". New York Times. Retrieved 2012-01-13.
Later he brought along the two most senior former Taliban leaders of the region, the former governor of northern Afghanistan, Mullah Nurullah Nuri, and the former Taliban assistant defense minister, Mullah Fazel, who negotiated the surrender of 6,000 Taliban prisoners from the town of Kunduz last week, including this group of prisoners. The two men said nothing as they visited the scene of the battle. Mullah Nuri was moving his lips in prayer. Mullah Fazel, a heavy man in a large black turban, appeared unmoved.
- ^ a b
"Narrative summaries of reasons for listing: TI.N.89.0.1. Nurullah Nuri". United Nations Security Council. 2011. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
Nurullah Nuri was listed on 25 January 2001 concurrently as Governor of the Balkh Province as well as Head of the Northern Zone of the Taliban regime so falling within the provisions of resolutions 1267 (1999) and 1333 (2000) of the United Nations Security Council regarding acts and activities of the Taliban authorities.
- ^ "List of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from January 2002 through May 15, 2006" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. Retrieved 2006-05-15.
- ^ "American soldier held captive in Afghanistan is now free". MSNBC. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
- ^ JTF-GTMO (2007-03-16). "Measurements of Heights and Weights of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba". Department of Defense. Archived from the original on 2009-01-25. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
- ^ "Measurements of Heights and Weights of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (ordered and consolidated version)" (PDF). Center for the Study of Human Rights in the Americas, from DoD data. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-13.
- ^ Margot Williams (2008-11-03). "Guantanamo Docket: Mullah Norullah Noori". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-03-30.
- ^ John R. Bolton (2003). "Denied Persons Pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution". United States Federal Registry. Retrieved 2010-11-03.
- ^ Neither Jalalabad or Mazari Sharif is a Province. They are cities.
- ^
Carol Rosenberg (2012-03-12). "Taliban prisoners at Guantánamo OK transfer". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on 2012-03-25. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
Five top Taliban leaders held by the U.S. in the Guantánamo Bay military prison told a visiting Afghan delegation they agree to a proposed transfer to the tiny Gulf state of Qatar, opening the door for a possible move aimed at bringing the Taliban into peace talks, Afghan officials said Saturday.