Eastern Shura

During the American aerial bombardment of Afghanistan, when the United States struck at Afghanistan's Taliban regime, regional and tribal leaders rose up to oust the Taliban in Khowst Province and Nangarhar Province formed an alliance known as the Eastern Shura.^[1][2][3][4] Mary Anne Weaver, writing in The New York Times on the fourth anniversary of al Qaeda's attacks on September 11, 2001, described the formation of the Eastern Shura as the result of surrender negotiations on November 13, 2001, between Younus Khalis and Osama bin Laden.

Eastern Shura leaders

name	notes
Hazrat Ali	Based in Towr Kham, a small town, in Nangarhar Province, on the border with Pakistan. Speculation links him to the drug trade, and to bribes that enabled al Qaeda and the Taliban's leadership to escape Tora Bora. Reported to have allowed Osama bin Laden to escape from Tora Bora.[5]
Abdul Qadir	Former governor of Nangarhar Province, prior to the Taliban regime. Close ties to the family of Mohammed Zahir, the last king of Afghanistan. Went to the Bonn Conference to endorse the choice of Hamid Karzai as leader of the Afghan Transitional Administration. Assassinated in July 2002.
Ezatullah
Hajji Mohammed Zaman	The Shura's "Defense Chief".[6][7][8] Karzai appointed Zaman deputy chief of Police for Nangarhar Province.[9]
Rostom Sherzad	Brought 120 fighters to the alliance.[10]
Haji Zaman Ghamsharik	Reported to have allowed Osama bin Laden to escape from Tora Bora.[5] Reported to have been "lured from exile" in France, by the USA.[5]
Pir Baksh Gardiwal	The Eastern Shura's "Intelligence Chief".[5]
Haji Hayat Ullah
Sher Gulan	Lead one of the pincer movements intended to capture Osama bin Laden as he escaped from Tora Bora in December 2001.[11] Had authority in Noorgal, Kunar.[12]

References

1. Pepe Escobar (December 7, 2001). "Taking a spin in Tora Bora". Asia Times. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
2. Mary Anne Weaver (2005-09-11). "Lost at Tora Bora". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-05-12. The last time bin Laden was seen in Jalalabad was the evening of Nov. 13, when he, along with Khalis's son, Mujahid Ullah, and other tribal leaders negotiated a peaceful hand-over of power from the Taliban to a caretaker government. Under its terms, Khalis would take temporary control of the city until the formation of a newly appointed U.S.-backed government. He, of course, made certain that the Eastern Shura, as the government is called, was stacked with men who owed their loyalty to him. Hajji Abdul Qadir, his former military commander, became Nangarhar Province's governor again.
3. Ted Rall (2005-06-08). "Where's Osama? Bush doesn't care. Do we?". Boise Weekly. Retrieved 2010-05-12. U.S. state-controlled media put bin Laden in a redoubt in the mountains of Tora Bora, a stone's throw west of the Khyber Pass, in mid-November 2001. According to this official account, corrupt Eastern Shura militia let bin Laden and hundreds of other al-Qaeda fighters escape. "There were only 21 bedraggled al-Qaeda fighters who were taken prisoners," writes the Christian Science Monitor.
4. Kenneth Katzman (2003-10-07). "Afghanistan: Current Issues and U.S. Policy" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. No clear leader, following death of Abdul Qadir; Qadir’s son appointed Jalalabad governor after Qadir’s death.
5. Philip Smucker. "How bin Laden got away: A day-by-day account of how Osama bin Laden eluded the world's most powerful military machine". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 2008-09-08.
6. "Battle for Mountains Will Be Tough". Fox News. December 9, 2001. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
7. "Bin Laden Believed to be in Tora Bora". CNN. 2001-11-29.
8. Rone Tempest (October 19, 2001). "Pashtun leaders meet in Pakistan: Exiled commander urges fight against Taliban". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-05-17.
9. Amir Shah (June 6, 2006). "2 Soldiers Killed by Afghan Roadside Bomb". Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
10. "Taliban likely preparing for guerrilla war". St Petersburg Times. October 21, 2001. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
11. Susan B. Glasser (2001-12-11). "Al Qaeda's Forces Flee Higher in Mountains". Washington Post. p. A01. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
12. OARDEC (2005-11-28). "Summary of Administrative Review Board Proceedings for ISN 948" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. pp. 311–321. Retrieved 2010-05-12. The weapons I had were for a group of people in the Noorgal government, Gulan, Said Jalal and Haji Kornai. I gave them back these weapons. These three commanders are supporting the American Forces and they are working with them in Jalalabad. fast mirror