Abdul Qayyum Zakir
Abdul Qayyum Zakir | |||||||||||||
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| عبدالقیوم ذاکر | |||||||||||||
| Deputy Minister of Defence | |||||||||||||
Acting | |||||||||||||
| Assumed office 21 September 2021 | |||||||||||||
| Leader | Hibatullah Akhundzada | ||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Hasan Akhund (acting) | ||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Mohammad Fazl (acting) | ||||||||||||
| Minister of Defence | |||||||||||||
| In office 24 August 2021 – 7 September 2021 | |||||||||||||
| Leader | Hibatullah Akhundzada | ||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Bismillah Khan Mohammadi | ||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Mullah Yaqoob (acting) | ||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||
| Born | 1973 (age 51–52) Kajaki, Helmand Province, Kingdom of Afghanistan | ||||||||||||
| Occupation | Politician, Taliban member | ||||||||||||
| Military service | |||||||||||||
| Allegiance | Taliban (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan) | ||||||||||||
| Branch/service |
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| Rank | Commander | ||||||||||||
| Unit | Sayyid Ala ud-Din Agha 203 Mansoori Corps | ||||||||||||
| Commands | Deputy Chief of Army Staff Head of the Military Affairs Commission (until 2014) Panjshir Brigade (since 2022) Andarab Regiment (since 2022) | ||||||||||||
| Battles/wars | |||||||||||||
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Abdul Qayyum "Zakir" (born 1973), also known by the nom de guerre Abdullah Ghulam Rasoul, is a Taliban militant commander and the acting Deputy Minister of Defense of the internationally unrecognized Taliban regime currently ruling Afghanistan. He was also the acting Defense Minister of the Taliban, from 24 August 2021 to 7 September 2021.
Zakir joined the Taliban movement in 1997 and took part in the Afghan civil war. He held the positions of deputy army commander, northern front commander and minister of defence for a short period during the first Taliban government of Afghanistan. Following the United States invasion of Afghanistan, Zakir surrendered to US forces and was interned in the US Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba. He was transferred from US custody to Pul-e-Charkhi prison in Afghanistan, from where he was later released.
After his release, Zakir rose through the ranks of the Taliban, running military operations in Helmand and Nimroz provinces before becoming the Taliban's overall military commander. During his tenure he was often described as one of the movement's hardliners and was reported to maintain close links to Iran. In 2014, he stepped down, reportedly following an internal leadership dispute, then was appointed as a deputy to the military head in 2020.