General Abdul Raziq

General Abdul Raziq was the Provincial Chief of Police (PCoP) for Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan. He was killed on October 18, 2018 while attending a high-level meeting at the Kandahar governor's compound. Also killed in the attack was the governor of Kandahar and the NDS chief for the province. General Scott Miller was in attendance at the meeting as well but was unharmed.

General Raziq was the victim of an insider attack. A member of the Kandahar governor's protective detail had been trained by the Taliban in a Taliban training camp. The Taliban immediately claimed credit for the attack. A video was released showing the shooting in the training camp of the Taliban.

General Abdul Raziq, the police chief of Kandahar province, started out as a young border policeman in Spin Bolduc in southern Kandahar province in 2001. Spin Bolduc is located 60 miles south of Kandahar City. He quickly grew a reputation as an ardent anti-Taliban fighter. He also developed a reputation for human rights abuses and drug trafficking. However, he soon became a favorite of U.S. military officers because of his ability to restore stability to areas of Kandahar.

HIs influence and power increased in 2011 after the assassination of Ahmed Wali Karzai - the half brother of then President Hamid Karzai. Raziq's reach and influence extended beyond Kandahar province into the neighboring provinces of Zabul, Uruzgan, and Helmand.

President Ghani was faced with a formidable foe in General Raziq. While Ghani wanted to sweep out the Karzai-era strongmen he also needed to maintain security in Kandahar province. Rumors have circulated for years that Ghani would try to replace Raziq.

Raziq received millions of dollars of equipment and training from the United States over the years. He had a close relationship with U.S. Special Forces during the earlier days of the conflict. He used his influence and increasingly growing power to settled old rivalries with not only the Taliban but with other tribal rivals.

General Raziq was a close ally of Hamid Karzai and rose to power under the Karzai regime. In addition to his official duties with the Afghan government he commanded a sizeable militia in Kandahar province. His political and economic power was based in Spin Boldak but extended into all of Kandahar. He was a critic of President Ghani - convinced that security in Afghanistan had decreased under the Ghani regime.

Websites with Info on General Abdul Raziq

General Abdul Razik. By WikipediA.
http://wikialpha.org/wiki/Abdul_Razik

Blog Posts about Abdul Razik by Afghan War News Blog
http://afghanwarnews.blogspot.com/search?q=abdul+raziq

Videos about General Abdul Raziq

Documentary: The Day Raziq Was Assassinated, Tolo News, November 8, 2018.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2nvn9n0r8s

News Reports about General Abdul Raziq

November 19, 2010. "Ally, Bad Guy, or Both? Thoughts on reconciling American values and questionable partners, two years after the death of Abdul Raziq", by Micah Ables, Modern War Institute at West Point.

October 18, 2018. "General Abdul Raziq Killed - Afghan Warlord", SOF News.

April 11, 2018. "Regional leaders are defying Afghanistan's president. The latest is a police chief who was once a close U.S. ally", LA Times.

February 16, 2018. "Impunity for U.S.-Funded Warlords in Afghanistan", by Katherine Hawkins, Just Security. An investigator with the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) profiles Lt. Gen. Abdul Raziq.

July 19, 2017. "Defying Dostum: A new Jombesh and the struggle for leadership over Afghanistan's Uzbeks", Afghanistan Analysts Network. A new political party formed by dissidents of the 'old' Jombesh which is led by Dostum.

May 30, 2015. "Afghan Police Chief, Long a Taliban Target, Faces a New Emotion: Fear". By Mujib Mashal, The New York Times.

November 8, 2014. "Powerful Afghan Police Chief Puts Fear in Taliban and Their Enemies". The New York Times. A revealing news article about General Abdul Raziq, the current police chief of Kandahar province (2014). The city of Kandahar and parts of the province are much more secure under this Provincial Chief of Police (PCOP) however questions abound on his human rights record.

May 28, 2014. "A Warlord, a Drug Smuggler, and a Killer: Meet the Men Poised to Rule Afghanistan". VICE News. Gary Owen comments on the close association of a warlord with U.S. military leaders.

November 2011. "Our Man in Kandahar". The Atlantic. "Abdul Raziq and his men have received millions of dollars' worth of U.S. training and equipment to help in the fight against the Taliban. But is our ally - long alleged to be involved in corruption and drug smuggling - also guilty of mass murder?"

December 27, 2010. "NATO bullish, Canadians wary about brutal effectiveness of Afghan warlord Razik". Web Citation - AP.

December 2009. "The Master of Spin Boldak: Undercover with Afghanistan's drug-trafficking border police", Harper's Magazine.