Muhammad Hanif

Who was Muhammad Hanif?

Muhammad Hanif was an Afghan who served as a spokesman for Taliban, particularly in eastern Afghanistan, prior to his capture in Nangarhar Province on 17 January 2007. The BBC reported the following information at the time. Hanif and Qari Mohammad Yousuf were appointed in October 2005 after the previous spokesman, Latifullah Hakimi, was captured. Their main tool of communication was e-mail to news organizations. On the day of his capture, Afghan intelligence officials released a recording of part of Hanif's interrogation. In this recording Hanif tells his interrogators that the Taliban's leader Mullah Omar is staying in the city of Quetta, Pakistan, under the protection of the ISI, Pakistan's intelligence agency. Aftab Ahmad Sherpao, Pakistan's Interior Minister, denied Hanif's assertion. Gul Agha Sherzai, the Governor of Nangarhar, claimed Hanif and two companions were captured in possession of anthrax.

Shortly after the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Hanif reached the press by means of a satellite telephone, and read a statement about the "martyr" which he claimed was written by Mullah Omar.