Afghanistan timeline October 2001

October 26, 2001

Abdul Haq was arrested by the Taliban and executed within hours by the militia. Haq was accused of trying to stir tribal revolt against its regime.

United States Special Forces began the ground phase of the US war against terrorism in Afghanistan, operating in small numbers in southern Afghanistan. US government officials said the mission was designed to expand an ongoing CIA effort to encourage ethnic Pashtun leaders to break away from Taliban forces.

United States air attacks continued for a fifth straight day over Afghanistan. Bombers, carrier-based fighter aircraft and Tomahawk cruise missiles struck at multiple targets, including military installations, airports and radio transmitters. Local reports say that Kabul was attacked after 8 PM. Utilizing 5,000 pound, laser-guided bunker buster bombs, US government officials said the aim of the operations was to take out Taliban defensive infrastructure, hit Taliban units on the ground, and take out underground bunkers occupied by Taliban personnel and al Qaeda terrorists.

Pakistan President, General Pervez Musharraf, warned that if the Northern Alliance came to power on the heels of the United States attacks, Afghanistan would "return to anarchy, atrocities and criminal killings."

The United States began waging war in Afghanistan to flush out suspected Osama bin Laden and the al-Qaeda fighters, and to help topple the Taliban regime.
A public meeting was held in a Pakistani-Afghani border town denouncing the Taliban regime, calling for the reinstatement of the exiled former king, Zahir Shah. About 10,000 people gathered in a football ground to hear speakers call for a loya jirga. Mahmoud Khan Achhezai was the main speaker.

United States president George W. Bush announced that the US is to provide an extra $320M in aid to help Afghanistan's impoverished people during the coming winter. The money will be spent on food and medicines.

Joe Biden, Chairman of the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is expected to proposal legislation for a long-term reconstruction and development plan in Central and South Asia following any military campaign against Afghanistan. The plan would also include Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Pakistan.