Kabir Mohabbat

Who was Kabir Mohabbat?

Kabir Mohabbat was an Afghan-American businessman from Houston, Texas. He was born in Kabul on October 10, 1956, to a prominent and politically active Afghan family. After graduating from high school in Afghanistan, his family sent him to the United States to sharpen his English skills and to obtain a university degree. In 1979, within days of receiving a B.A. in Political Science from Southeast Missouri State University, the Soviet Army invaded Afghanistan. He immediately volunteered to fight and returned to Afghanistan. During the war he had extensive involvement with various Afghan Mujahidin groups and supporting governments in their struggle with the Soviets. Because of this experience, after the bombing of the USS Cole he was asked by the U.S. to help with the Taliban and Osama bin Laden.

Mohabbat acted as a temporary extraordinary envoy of the United States to the Taliban in the negotiations for the delivery of Osama bin Laden. It was his responsibility to facilitate talks and act as intermediary between the two governments. He succeeded in the negotiations. Toward the end of February 2001, the Taliban curbed any and all activities of bin Laden, stripped him of his communications equipment, and limited his contacts to those of his "immediate refugee life" in Afghanistan. When the Taliban placed bin Laden and some of his men under house arrest near Kandahar, the U.S. was granted permission to arrest, capture or kill the Saudi on Afghan soil. The Afghan Government's representative even suggested that the U.S. hit bin Laden and his men with Cruise Missiles since the U.S. had fired them at Afghanistan once before.