AFGHANISTAN RESISTANCE SPOKESMAN - SIBGHATULLAH MOJADEDI -- IN SEARCH OF UNITY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP86T01017R000807860001-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 23, 2012
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: August 28, 1986
• Content Type: MEMO

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/06/22 : CIA-RDP86TO1017R000807860001-1 75X1
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DATE
DOC N014),4 i1 k~- ~t>b I O
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Central Intelligence Agency
Washington. D. C.20505
DIRECTORATE OF INTELLIGENCE
28 August 1986
Afghanistan Resistance Spokesman
Sibghatullah Mojadedi--In Search of Unity
Summary
Sibghatullah Mojadedi began a three-month stint as spokesman
for the Afghan insurgents' seven-party alliance in July. He leads
the traditionalist Jabha-i-Najat-i-Milli Afghanistan (Afghanistan
National Liberation Front or ANLF), the smallest and probably least
militarily effective of the groups. He has consistently called for
cooperation among the alliance factions and the eventual
establishment of a government-in-exile. Mojadedi possesses
first-rate Islamic credentials and hails from one of the country's
most prominent families; his ability to promote unity, however, is
limited by his lack of political and administrative skills, the
poor military and financial condition of the ANLF, and his
antagonistic relationship with two key members of the
In July 1986 Sibghatullah Mojadedi, leader of the
Jabha-i-Najat-i-Milli Afghanistan (Afghanistan National Liberation
Front--ANLF), was named to a three month term as spokesman for the
Afghan insurgents' seven-party alliance. Mojadedi has consistently
This memorandum was prepared byl ~ South 25X1
Asia/Persian Gulf Branch, Office of Leadership Analysis. It was
coordinated- with the office of Near Eastern and South Asian
Analysis. Comments and questions should be directed to Chief, Asia
Near East Division 25X1
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stressed the need for unity within the resistance. Since the
beginning of the war, he has participated in every moderate
alliance, and from 1982 until 1985, he served as chairman of the
Islamic Unity of Afghan Mujahidin, a three-party moderate
alliance. While he insists that without solidarity the resistance
cause might be lost, we believe he sees the alliance as serving
his best interests. The ANLF is in poor military and financial
condition, and unity provides Mojadedi with more exposure and
power than he would have otherwise and gives him increased access
to funding and logistical aid.
Life with the fundamentalists, however, has not been easy.
According to US officials in Peshawar, Mojadedi has labeled
Gulbuddin Hikmatyar, the leader of the Hizbi Islami-Gulbuddin (the
Gulbuddin faction of the Islamic Party), and Abdul Rasul Sayyaf,
the leader of the Ittihad-i-Islami Barai Azadi Afghanistan (the
Islamic Union for the Liberation of Afghanistan), as fanatics for
their support of a Khomeini-style government. In addition to
their differences over the form of a post-Communist government in
Afghanistan, they are at odds over the nature of the present
coalition. Mojadedi maintains that Gulbuddin and Sayyaf have
little regard for unity and hinder the alliance by refusing to
cooperate with it. He blames their arrogance and intransigence on
their allegedly close ties to Khomeini and Qadhafi. He is
especially hostile toward Gulbuddin, whom he has branded the
"world's biggest terrorist" and has accused of assassinating
fellow resistance commanders. He may also be jealous of
Gulbuddin's military prowess and Sayyaf's financial support from
the Saudis. Mojadedi appears to have better relations with
fundamentalist Burhannuddin Rabbani, head of the Jamiat-i-Islami
(Islamic Society).
The Spokesman: A PR Man
The role of the spokesman has always been defined by the
man who occupies it. Mojadedi, no stranger to the limelight, will
probably continue to stress public relations during his tenure.
He has personal ties to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kuwait, Libya,
Western Europe and the United States, and he speaks fluent English
and Arabic and some German and Urdu. He is an experienced public
speaker and has delivered some powerful and moving speeches. His
personable nature comes across well in press interviews, which he
gives often (he even appeared in 1982 on the 700 Club). Realizing
that world opinion is important, he will present the view of a
united while working toward achieving that objective.
Mojadedi has stated his goals as further unifying the
alliance by opening offices abroad, consolidating the work of the
various alliance committees, and promoting the formation of an
assembly to create a government-in-exile. He has also publicly
called for resistance participation in the UN-sponsored proximity
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Mojadedi's success, however, will probably be limited,
since the seven leaders must reach a consensus before the alliance
can act on issues. According to the US Embassy in Islamabad,
Sayyaf and Gulbuddin have not cooperated in the effort to open an
alliance office in Jidda. They also disagree with Mojadedi and
the traditionalists over relations with the United States and the
method of selecting representatives for the proposed loya jirga,
or grand council (a traditional form of self-rule based on popular
representation), to establish the future government of
Afghanistan. More importantly, Mojadedi lacks the financial
support and military effectiveness as well as the political savvy
to influence the other alliance leaders. We expect he will have
to move slowly toward his objectives while preserving the facade
of alliance unity. He will also work behind the scenes to enlist
US aid in weakening Gulbuddin ' d Sayyaf's veto power over
alliance decisionmaking.
According to Western scholars, Mojadedi, 60, is one of the
leading Islamic philosophers and scholars alive today. He holds
bachelor's and master's degrees in Islamic law from the
prestigious Al-Azhar University in Cairo. During the 1950s he
taught theology at two secondary schools in Kabul and was a
professor of Islamic jurisprudence at Kabul University. From 1974
until 1978 he headed the Islamic Center of Scandinavia in
Copenhagen.
Mojadedi's religious and family status form the base of his
potential support. He has made a particular study of the
Naqshbandi order of Sufism, which his family has headed for more
than a century. Nearly three million sect members regard him as
the latest holy man of a dynasty that traces its roots back
through the revered Mullah Shore Bazar to Mojadedi Alf-Sani.
His father and great uncle, both religious
scholars, added prestige and great wealth to the family's
credentials. They were well rewarded by the monarchy for their
efforts in fighting the British in 1919.
Mojadedi, who lacks any military or political training, has
been unable to convert his religious following into a broad
insurgent movement. The ANLF is the smallest and probably least
effective of the Peshawar-based resistance groups. We believe
that its claim to have between 10,000 and 40,000 armed men
operating from bases in Kabul City, Lowgar, Nangahar, Qandahar,
and Konarha Provinces is greatly exaggerated. 25X1
the ANLF's few supporters are restricted to LOA-1
operations in the eastern provinces near the Pakistani border.
the ANLF has often taken credit for 25X1
other groups' military successes. the 25X1
ANLF is chronically short of munitions and funds; logistical
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breakdowns keep supplies that are sent from reaching the
Anything but Communism
Mojadedi has a long history of anti-Communist and
anti-Soviet activities. In 1959 he was arrested for allegedly
plotting to assassinate Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev during his
official visit to Kabul. He subsequently served a four-year
prison term including three years in solitary confinement. From
his release until 1974, when he fled the country for Denmark, he
served as a translator at the Saudi Arabian Embassy. During that
period he was active in organizing anti-Communist street
demonstrations. In 1972 he formed the secret Jamiat al-Ulami
Mohammadi as an Islamic counterweight to the growing communist
influence in Kabul. While in self-imposed exile, he traveled
around the Middle East trying to mobilize opposition to the regime
Mojadedi has never hesitated to use Islam as a political
tool, but he opposes the establishment in Afghanistan of an
Islamic republic modeled after Iran. He has said that he favors a
nonaligned democracy based on Islamic and traditional Afghan
values but would support the decision of the loya jirga, once it
While the other traditionalist leaders have taken a
consistent stand on the role of former King Zahir Shah, Mojadedi
has flip-flopped. In 1984 he told US officials that the monarchy
was an anachronism and that the King, to whom he is distantly
related through his second wife, had made mistakes that led to the
present political chaos. During the past two years he has told
the same officials that the monarch was still popular among his
former subjects and could be a useful rallying point in the face
of rivalries within the resistance. We believe that he would
probably welcome a role for Zahir Shah, if popular opinion seemed
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Looking to Uncle Sam
Mojadedi has always looked favorably on the West. He
sought and received refuge in Scandinavia and has traveled
throughout the free world. He has visited the United States at
least four times--twice on official visits, once to visit his
brother and two sons who live in Florida, and once for treatment
of a heart condition. He has been straightforward with US
officials and has called on them to provide more humanitarian and
military aid--to the resistance in general and the ANLF
specifically--and to increase diplomatic pressure on the Soviet
Union. After his most recent trip to Washington--in June 1986--he
told US officials in Islamabad that he appreciated meeting
President Reagan and was impressed with his knowledge of the
resistance effort. He also told them that as spokesman he intends
to maintain close contact with this country. Mojadedi is not,
however, as positive about relations with Pakistan. He has
complained bitterly of Pakistani interference in resistance
affairs, and to emphasize his dissatisfaction he initially refused
to accept his turn as spokesman for the alliance. i 25X1
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SUBJECT: Sibghatullah Mojadedi: In Search of Unity
LDA M 86-20010
DISTRIBUTION:
EXTERNAL:
1-Robert Peck (STATE)
1-George Harris (INR)
i-Steve Cohen (STATE)
1-Herb Hagerty (STATE)
1-Ron Lorton (INR)
1-AMB. Charles Dunbar (STATE)
1-Desiree Milliken (STATE)
1-Vincent Cannistraro (NSC)
1-Stephen R. Sestanovich (NSC)
1-Fred Ikle (DOD)
1-The Honorable Richard Murphy (STATE)
1-Ambassador Morton Abramowitz (STATE)
1-Peter Rodman (NSC)
1-HON. Michael Armacost (STATE)
1-Zalmay Khalilzad (STATE)
1-Ted Andrews (STATE)
INTERNAL
1-DIR/DCI/DDCI EXEC STAFF
1-DDI
1-NIO/NESA
1-D/NESA
1-DD/NESA
1-C/PPS/NESA
2-PPS NESA
1-C/PES
6-CPAS/IMB/CB
1-DC/DDO/NE
1-PDB STAFF
1-NID STAFF
1-C/NESA/PG
1-C/NESA/AI
1-C/NESA/IA
1-C/NESA/SO
1-DC/NESA/SO
1-C/NESA/SO/P
1-C/NESA/SO/A
1-C/NESA/SO/S
1-D/LDA
1-OIR/DSD
1- NESA
1- LDA/AN/ SAPG
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