Mullah Omar Escape
In 2001, right after the American attack on Afghanistan, Mullah Abdul Jabbar Omri receives a message. The message says that wherever he is, he should immediately reach to Kandahar. Kandahar is considered the stronghold of the Taliban. When Omri arrives in Kandahar, he is approached by Mullah Shireen, who was the trusted bodyguard of Mullah Omar, the Taliban chief at that time. Mullah Shireen asks Omri if he can hide Mullah Omar in a safe place where the Americans cannot find him. Omri immediately agrees and says he will keep him in the safest place possible. Omri adds, “If needed, I will even hide him under my wife’s burqa (veil).”
Mullah Omar’s bodyguard, Mullah Shireen, seated him in a car and took him to the main square in Kandahar. There, a small group of Taliban was waiting for them. Omri got out of Mullah Shireen’s car and walked towards the group. Mullah Omar grabbed his hand and asked, “Can you provide me a safe place?” Omri replied, “Only Allah can keep you safe, but I will surely try.”
At noon, Mullah Omar sat in a white Toyota. With him in the same car were Mullah Omri, Mullah Azizullah, and an unknown man. Then, this white Toyota, along with four high-profile Taliban members, left Kandahar towards the northeast. They took the road leading to Zabul Province.
Note: If you want to watch the documentary about Mullah Omar’s escape and death in English Language, please click here . . .
For Urdu/Hindi, please click here . . .
December 2001 was the time when the United States, in its search for Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, had already invaded Afghanistan. As a result, the Taliban government in Afghanistan was on the verge of collapse. In response, the Taliban leadership decided to change their strategy, abandon the government, and wage a guerrilla war against the United States and its allies. On the other hand, the United States announced bounties on the heads of Taliban leaders, placing a $10 million price on the head of Taliban chief Mullah Omar. In such a situation, the Taliban leadership began hiding themselves in secure locations. During his last meeting in Kandahar, Mullah Omar handed over the command of the Taliban to his friend Mullah Obaidullah Akhund and headed towards a famous square in Kandahar known as Maidan Chowk.
Mullah Omar Secret House
At this point, Mullah Obaidullah, who had been the Defense Minister during the Taliban’s first regime, called Mullah Abdul Jabar Omri and tasked him with keeping Mullah Omar safe from the Americans. Omri, who held a mid-level profile within the Taliban leadership, was also the chief of a tribe in Zabul Province. Before this, he had known Mullah Omar only from a distance, but he had good relations with Mullah Obaidullah. Omri then took Mullah Omar from Kandahar to his own area in Zabul.
By evening, the white Toyota reached a village in Qalat, a city in Zabul. They arrived at a mud house in the village that had five rooms. The courtyard of the house had a tandoor (clay oven) and a water well. Among the rooms, there was also a secret room in one corner. The room was shaped like the English letter “L” and was attached to the other rooms in such a way that it was difficult to guess from the outside that there was an additional room in the house. Inside this room, there was also a kitchen and a latrine on one side. Mullah Omar was accommodated in this very room. Mullah Omar’s bodyguard, Omri, dug a pit in the backyard of the house and buried Mullah Omar’s white Toyota in the ground.
In fact, this was the same house where Abdul Jabar Omri’s family lived. Omri informed his wife and children that they had a special guest in their house and warned them not to reveal anything about this guest to anyone, or else everyone would be killed. Mullah Omar stayed in his room. Occasionally, he would sit in the courtyard to bask in the sun. He also had a Nokia phone without a SIM card, on which he would listen to recorded Quranic recitations. Jabar Omri himself took care of Mullah Omar’s food, drink, and living arrangements. Meanwhile, Omri’s driver, Ustad Abdul Samad, drove his vehicle and was responsible for bringing essential household items as well as delivering messages.
Encounter with American Soldiers
Mullah Omar would spend hours sitting against the wall, engaged in dhikr (remembrance of Allah’s names). In the evening, he would listen to BBC Pashto radio broadcasts, while in the adjacent room, Omri would listen to Voice of America radio broadcasts. While Mullah Omar was staying in Qalat, the American military had launched a house-to-house search operation. During this time, there were two instances when American forces entered their house and began searching. On one occasion, Mullah Omar and his guard Omri were sitting in the small garden of the house when suddenly, American forces barged in. In response, Mullah Omar and Omri jumped and hid behind nearby bushes. The Americans stayed in their house and the village until late at night, and the two of them remained hidden in the bushes until late at night.
The second time, American forces entered their house when Mullah Omar was inside his secret room. This time, Omri was not present in the house. The Americans searched all the rooms one by one but could not find the room where Mullah Omar was hiding. In fact, the small door of Mullah Omar’s L-shaped room opened into an inner room, and a large cupboard had been placed in front of this door. This tricked the Americans into believing that there was only a wall behind the cupboard. However, behind that very cupboard was the secret door to Mullah Omar’s room.
By 2004, the Americans began building a forward base, known as Forward Operating Base (FOB) Lagman, just a few hundred meters away from Mullah Omar’s house. When engineers started excavation work for the base, Mullah Omar decided to change his location from that house. Abdul Ustad seated Mullah Omar and his bodyguard Omri in his vehicle, and they traveled 25 kilometers southeast to the city of Siyori.
Relocating to New Secret House
There, the guard Omri and driver Abdul Ustad built a small hut for Mullah Omar by the riverbank, under which a water stream flowed, carrying water from the mountains. The purpose of building the hut over the stream was that if forces raided the area, Mullah Omar and his companions could escape through the stream beneath the hut.
However, as soon as they shifted to their new location, the Americans began building another military base just a few minutes away from their hut-like house. At any given time, over a thousand Western soldiers were stationed at this base.
However, this time, Mullah Omar did not change his location and stayed there. He lived in the tunnel of his room and only came out during winter to bask in the sun. There were many other houses near his home, and the villagers were supporters of the Taliban. The villagers knew that a high-profile Taliban member was living in their village, but they did not know it was the Taliban chief, Mullah Omar.
During this time, Mullah Omar’s role in the Taliban’s organizational structure, consultations, and decision-making was minimal. For high-profile decisions, messengers were sent to seek his approval, usually every three months. It is said that this messenger was Mullah Aziz. Only a few members of the Taliban leadership knew about Mullah Omar’s location.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s intelligence agency, the NDS, became suspicious of the driver, Abdul Ustad, believing he might have some connection with Mullah Omar. They arrested Abdul Samad Ustad. Tribal elders from the area would then approach the NDS, explaining that he was a poor driver who worked to feed his children and requesting his release. After investigations, the NDS would release him, but they would arrest him again later. Despite this, Abdul Ustad never revealed his secret.
Mediation as a Saint?
Mullah Omar spent most of his time reciting the Quran. He would record his recitations on his phone and listen to them later. He also started writing in Arabic, even though he did not know how to write before. During this period, he wrote four notebooks in Arabic, but no one except him could read his handwriting. He would spend hours in a meditative state, performing dhikr (remembrance of Allah).
Once, the guard Omri shook Mullah Omar while he was in a meditative state because he thought Mullah Omar had fallen asleep. Mullah Omar responded angrily, saying that Omri had disrupted his deep contemplation about how God created everything—the sky, the sun, humanity, and the immense power of Allah. His guard, Omri, regarded Mullah Omar as a saint.
In 2010, Mullah Omar’s close associate and acting Taliban chief, Mullah Obaidullah, passed away. Around the same time, Mullah Omar’s health began to deteriorate. His guard, Mullah Abdul Jabar Omri, suggested calling a doctor, but Mullah Omar firmly refused. He did not take any medicine either. He developed a cough and started vomiting. Eventually, he agreed to receive an injection with a serum obtained from the local market, but by then, it was too late. Mullah Omar became very weak and ill. During this time, his guard Omri took complete care of him, but his condition did not improve. In his final days, he remained bedridden.
Death
One day before his death, Mullah Omar, in his sick state, told Omri, “I still feel unwell.” After that, he lost consciousness. “Oh Mullah Sahib, Mullah Sahib!” Omri called out, but there was no response. When Omri gently shook Mullah Omar, he collapsed. This was Mullah Omar’s last conversation.
Late at night, Mullah Omar regained consciousness once more but then lost it again. The next day, on April 23, 2013, Mullah Omar passed away. At the same time, a powerful storm swept through Kandahar and its surrounding areas. The storm caused the military equipment at the nearby American base to be overturned. Omri, Mullah Omar’s bodyguard, considered this storm to be a miracle of his saintly leader, Mullah Omar. The storm on the day of Mullah Omar’s death was later confirmed by Bette Dam, the author who wrote a book about Mullah Omar.
That same night, the guard Mullah Abdul Jabar Omri, along with two companions, buried Mullah Omar in an unmarked grave. Omri recorded the burial process on camera. He then traveled to Quetta, Pakistan, where Mullah Omar’s family resided. Omri shared the news and showed the video to Mullah Omar’s son, Mullah Yaqub, and his stepbrother, Mullah Abdul Manan. Both of them asked Omri to take them to Mullah Omar’s grave. Seventeen days later, the grave was opened, and after identification, Mullah Manan and Mullah Yaqub placed Mullah Omar in a wooden shroud and buried him again.
The Taliban leadership decided not to announce Mullah Omar’s death immediately, as the Americans were in the process of withdrawing from Afghanistan. They feared that such news might affect the Taliban’s operations. When Mullah Omar’s death was finally announced in 2015, more than two years had already passed since his demise. In 2021, the United States withdrew from Afghanistan, and the Taliban returned to power. In 2022, the Taliban leadership exhumed Mullah Omar’s white Toyota, which had been buried underground during his escape, and brought it back to the surface.
Take good care of yourself and your loved ones.
Goodbye.