Pakistan Clears the Air on Mullah Zaeef’s Deportation Story

A senior Pakistani general has finally addressed a long-standing controversy regarding the deportation of former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, following the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001.

During a recent seminar, General (R) Ehsan Ul Haq shared first-hand details, rejecting the old narrative that Pakistan “handed over” Mullah Zaeef to the United States.

According to General Ehsan, once Pakistan officially de-recognized the Taliban government after 9/11, Mullah Zaeef continued to live in Islamabad inside his diplomatic residence. This created an awkward diplomatic situation for Pakistan as he no longer held any official status.

At the time, international media gathered outside his house. Zaeef frequently spoke to them, which caused embarrassment and pressure for Pakistan on the global stage.

General Ehsan revealed that after the Taliban fled Kabul, they secretly decided to form a “government in exile” from Pakistan, with Mullah Zaeef as its head. When Pakistan learned about this, officials asked Zaeef to live quietly like an ordinary Afghan refugee inside the country. However, he refused to cooperate.

Pakistan had already hosted around five million Afghan refugees then — and not a single one was handed over to the U.S. Despite several reminders from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mullah Zaeef refused to vacate his residence or move elsewhere in Pakistan.

After months of back-and-forth, authorities decided to deport him legally to Afghanistan via the Torkham border. He was taken there by helicopter. Pakistani officers even offered him one last chance to stay in Pakistan, but he again refused.

Once he crossed into Afghanistan, local Afghan forces arrested him and later turned him over to U.S. authorities. Pakistan, according to General Ehsan, had no role in this handover.

Later, Mullah Zaeef published a book in India in which he blamed Pakistan unfairly, twisting the facts and ignoring the hospitality he had received for years.

General Ehsan’s statement has now helped clarify Pakistan’s position, exposing the false narrative that has circulated in international media for years.