Abdul Haq (b. October 1, 1971 (1971-10-01) (age 38)) is a Uyghur who Chinese security officials assert has planned terrorist operations in China.^[1] He has been described as being the "overall leader" of the East Turkistan Islamic Party (ETIP). The United States Treasury reports he took over leadership of the organization in 2003, following the death of its previous leader. The United States Treasury reports he took a seat on al Qaeda's shura, its central committee, in 2005.

The ETIP was designated as a terrorist organization in Executive Order 13224.^[1] The United Nations Security Council's 1267 Committee placed him on a list of individuals suspected of having a tie to Osama bin Laden.

Abdul Haq faced allegations that he was behind bombing that preceded the Peking Olympics.^[1]

Shirley Kan, of the Congressional Research Service, challenged the Treasury's description of Abdul Haq's role, in several details, in her testimony before the House International Relations Committee's Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight.^[2] Kan asserted that the decision to designate the East Turkestan Islamic Party as a terrorist organization was controversial within the civil service. She called the first Chinese list of terrorist organizations, published in December 2003, as "intentionally misleading or mistaken", and pointed out several errors in it. She pointed out that it listed Hassan Mahsum as a wanted man, when he was already known to have been killed in action. She pointed out that Abdul Haq was not listed as a wanted man. She pointed out that while the Treasury document asserted Abdul Haq had directed followers to launch attacks prior to the Olympics no such attacks on the Olympics took place. Kan also wrote a document entitled: "U.S.-China Counterterrorism Cooperation: Issues for U.S. Policy".^[3]

[edit] References