Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil - Disowned By The Taliban

Disowned By The Taliban

On Tuesday October 21, 2003, the Taliban disowned Muttawakil. The BBC was told by a Taliban spokesman that Muttawakil "does not represent our will".

In 2003 Muttawakil's location and status was a matter for speculation. The BBC reported that he had been released from detention from the United States Bagram Theater Detention Facility.

Further information: Bagram torture and prisoner abuse

The BBC also reports that the US was guarding him, for his own protection, at their base in Kandahar. They report that aides to Muttawakil assert that the USA has given Muttawakil two choices: join the Karzai government as a spokesman and adviser to the Afghan president; or seek political asylum in a Western country. However, the aides said, Muttawakil wanted to take a break from involvement in Afghan politics, and, if he were to seek asylum, he would wish to do so in an Arab country.