NAIROBI — Kenyan authorities have agreed to extradite Zahir Qadeer, the former deputy speaker of Afghanistan’s parliament, to the United States, sources told Amu TV on Tuesday.
According to Qadeer’s relatives, a Kenyan court recently approved the U.S. extradition request, and Qadeer is expected to be transferred to American custody in the coming days.
The Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not yet responded to inquiries regarding the extradition proceedings.
Qadeer was arrested in Kenya at the request of the United States on charges related to drug trafficking and the possession of illegal weapons, according to the sources.
The U.S. has accused Qadeer of conspiring in narcotics trafficking and possessing multiple automatic weapons. He remains in custody under court order while the case proceeds.
Qadeer has alleged that the charges are part of a broader plan by his political adversaries to remove him from Afghanistan and silence him abroad. In documents submitted to the court, he claimed to have led a civil movement known as the “Peace Caravan” in Nangarhar Province and to have consistently opposed foreign interference in Afghan affairs.
He also referred to his family’s political legacy, noting that he is the son of Abdul Qadeer, a key figure in the United Islamic Front and a former vice president in Afghanistan’s transitional government, who was assassinated in 2002.
“In parliament, I was one of the most outspoken critics of the government,” Qadeer said in a written statement. “In one speech, I told the president: You were a restaurant worker in America, and we made you president with our votes — we can take those votes back.”
He claimed that his political activism has made him a persistent target of threats and alleged that the Taliban administration is using fabricated charges through its prosecutor general’s office to further silence him.
Qadeer denied any involvement in drug trafficking or arms smuggling and said he has never faced criminal charges in Afghanistan or abroad. “I am a law-abiding Afghan citizen,” he said. “These accusations are baseless and unfamiliar to me.”
He also noted that his last visit to the United States was nearly two decades ago and called Washington’s sudden interest in extraditing him “strange and troubling.”
Qadeer served as a member of the Afghan parliament from 2010 to 2021, including a term as deputy speaker under the former republic.
