Colonel Imam

Amir Sultan Tarar (4 April 1944 – 23 January 2011), commonly known by the nom de guerre Colonel Imam, was a Pakistani military officer. A key special ops specialist in the Pakistan Army, he is widely regarded as "father of the Taliban".

A Pakistan Army officer, he was a member of the Special Service Group (SSG), Pakistan's army special forces, and was an intelligence officer in the ISI. He served as the Consul-General of Pakistan in Herat, Afghanistan.

"Colonel Imam," as Tarar was also known, was a commando-guerrilla warfare specialist, trained Mullah Omar and other Taliban factions and leaders. Colonel Imam remained active in Afghanistan's civil war until the 2001 United States led War on Terrorism, and supported the Taliban publicly through media. and Qureshi's driver Rustam Khan on 26 March 2010. Khawaja was killed a month later. Qureshi and Khan were released in September 2010. Imam was killed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in January 2011.

Education and military career Amir Sultan Tarar was a graduate from the PMA and from Fort Bragg. After he graduated from the Pakistan Military Academy, he joined the Pakistan Army's 15th Frontier Force Regiment as 2nd Lieutenant. Amir Sultan Tarar was sent to the United States in 1974, and was trained among the United States Army Special Forces. Upon his graduation from the Special Forces School, Amir Sultan Tarar was awarded the American Green beret by his training commander. Following his return to Pakistan, Amir Sultan Tarar joined the Special Service Group (SSG). In the 1980s, he participated in the Soviet–Afghan War. Colonel Imam, as he became known, was increasingly involved in Afghanistan's politics even after the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. After the Soviet–Afghan War, Colonel Imam supported and trained Taliban fighters independently. It was alleged even in the 2000s that he still independently supported the Taliban independence movement in Afghanistan. He was a disciple of Ameer Muhammad Akram Awan, the current sheikh of silsila Naqshbandia Owaisia.

Authentic knowledge about Amir Sultan Tarar Little is known of Amir Sultan Tarar's true history or operational profile as an agent of the ISI. Most information about 'Colonel Imam' was generated by his own admission, as well as news media speculation. Pakistan's secrecy over internal and external security, plus the code of conduct of Pakistan Armed Forces personnel serving in sensitive institutions, prevents such details from being available or verifiable. In 2010, however, Amir Sultan Tarar gave interviews to foreign and domestic journalists in Rawalpindi.

Colonel Imam was executed in captivity, as documented in a video released by Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. Both the Haqqani network and the Afghan Taliban were purportedly against the execution. Colonel Imam's captors refused to release his body to his family unless a ransom was paid.