Abdul Salam Rocketi

Rocketti was a candidate in the 2009 Afghan Presidential election but subsequently endorsed President Hamid Karzai. In July the same year, he survived a Taliban ambush during a campaign rally in Baghlan Province. Preliminary results placed him 7th in a field of 38.

In the summer of 2007 Rocketti and Abdul Salam Zaeef, the Taliban's former Ambassador to Pakistan were reported to have entered into negotiation with the more moderate factions within the Taliban. According to the Asia Times:

According to the Sydney Morning Herald Rocketti, commenting on a recent Taliban offensive in 2006, said:

In May 2002, after renouncing the insurgency, Rocketi was arrested by American officials during a meeting in Kandahar.

By the time of the 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, Rocketi was serving as the top commander in Kunar, Nangarhar and Laghman provinces. In the opening days of the bombardment, it was suggested that his residence may have been a target of three bombs dropped in mid-October. However, by December 2001, he was reported to have surrendered Zabul to the American forces. The following month, it was reported that he may have been killed in the attack that also killed Taliban Interior Minister Qari Ahmadullah.

In 1995, he was requested to join the Taliban by the leader of Taliban Mullah Omar then he fought against cruel Mujahedeen who started the inhuman act all our the country. After a long war he was appointed as governor and military head of Maidan Wardak Province, He was also the main commander who took Kabul from Mujahedeen. A member of the Abdul Rasul Sayyaf's Islamic Dawah Organisation of Afghanistan, his residence was raided by Pakistani militias who uncovered a cache of Stinger missiles, and arrested his brother. Rocketi retaliated, fought against these militias in many battles and won many battles against them. After some time in a battle he lost his brother in a battle against Pakistani and these Pakistani kidnapped his brother body and not welling to give it back after a while Rocketi kidnapped the deputy commissioner of Ziarat, Atta Mohammad, and several Pakistani militiamen. In retaliation, he took 10 Pakistani hostages, including the deputy commissioner of Ziarat and 2 Chinese engineers. He demanded that his brother to be freed from Pakistani prison and return his martyred brother Dawtany and return of his Stinger missiles,

Mullah Abdul Salam Rocketi (born 1958, Naw Bahar District, Zabul Province) is a former Mujahideen "freedom fighter" and Taliban military commander who renounced his allegiance to run for the Parliament of Afghanistan in 2005, and for the Presidency in 2009. The Asia Times described him as one of the former Taliban who: "...act as the Taliban's political wing in Kabul." Rocketi is an ethnic Pashtun from Zabul Province in Afghanistan. Son of Haji Manzar, he has almost completed his religious studies until he joined the Mujahedeen (freedom fighter) war against the foreign invaders.