Meet The Taliban's Top Brass That's Trying To Form A Government In Afghanistan

The Taliban are back in power in Afghanistan after two decades of war against the NATO forces and the Afghan security forces. It initially drew members from so-called ¡°mujahideen¡± fighters who, with support from the United States, pushed back Soviet troops in the 1980s. The group emerged in 1994 as one of the factions that fought a civil war and then took control of much of the country in 1996 when it imposed Sharia, or Islamic law. Western opponents and countries accuse the group of brutally enforcing Islamic law and repressing religious minorities.

Tailban's founder and leader was Mullah Mohammad Omar, who went into hiding after the Taliban were overthrown by local US-backed forces following the 9/11 attacks on the US.

Since foreign troops began withdrawing, the Taliban have seized large swathes of the country and now control 10 of the capital's 34 provinces. Here are some Taliban leaders who now control the entire country:

Haibatullah Akhundzada, supreme commander

Reuters

Known as the "Leader of the Faithful", the Islamic law scholar is the Taliban's supreme leader who wields ultimate authority over the group's political, religious and military affairs.

Akhunzada took over when his predecessor, Akhtar Mansour, was killed in a US drone strike by US near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in 2016.

Before he suddenly disappeared in May 2016, Akhunzada for 15 years taught and preached at a mosque in Kuchlak, a city in southwest Pakistan. He is believed to be around 60 years old and his whereabouts are unknown. During the 1980s Akhundzada fought against the Soviet Union with a brigade of young Mujahideen students from the Quran, who would later form the hardline Taliban.

Abdul Ghani Baradar, Deputy leader of the Taliban

TOI

Co-founder of the Taliban, Baradar now heads the Taliban's political office and is part of the negotiating team the group has in Doha to try and work out a political deal that could pave the way for a ceasefire and more. lasting peace in Afghanistan. The process has failed to make any significant progress in recent months. Baradar, reportedly one of Mullah Omar's most trusted commanders, was arrested in 2010 by security forces in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi and released in 2018.

He was said to have been one of the first in the fundamentalist group to encourage discussions with Washington, an extremely sensitive subject within the group. His status as co-founder of the movement allowed him to tackle this subject. History has it that, during the American invasion, he fled with his friend Mullah Omar on a motorcycle. Captured in 2010 during a joint CIA and Pakistani intelligence operation, he was released in 2018 at the request of the United States so he could lead a Taliban delegation to peace talks..

Sirajuddin Haqqani

TOI

The son of prominent mujahideen commander Jalaluddin Haqqani, Sirajuddin founder and head of the Haqqani network, a loosely organized group that oversees the Taliban's financial and military assets on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

Haqqani is believed by some experts to have introduced suicide bombings into Afghanistan and has been blamed for several high-profile attacks in Afghanistan, including the attack on a top Kabul hotel, the assassination attempt on then-President Hamid Karzai and the suicide attack on the Indian embassy. Haqqani is believed to be in his late 40s or early 50s.

Sirajuddin Haqqani leads the network and serves as deputy leader of the Taliban. He is wanted by the FBI for questioning in connection with a 2008 attack on a hotel in Kabul that killed six people, including one American.

Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, Mullah Omar¡¯s son

The son of Taliban founder Mullah Omar, Yaqoob oversees the group's military operations, and local media reports say he is inside Afghanistan. He was proposed as leader of the movement as a whole during various succession struggles. A new face in the group, which quickly rose to prominence after the death of his father in 2013, Yaqoob is seen by some as a moderate member of the Taliban.

When the Taliban seized control of swathes of territory quickly last week, Yaqoob urged Taliban fighters not to harm members of the Afghan military and government, and refrain from looting empty houses and ensuring markets and shops remain functioning.

Abdul Hakim Haqqani, top negotiator

TOI

He is the head of the Taliban's negotiating team. The former head of the Taliban¡¯s shadow court heads a powerful council of clerics and is widely believed to be Akhunzada¡¯s most trusted person.

Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, key diplomat

TOI

A former deputy minister in the Taliban government prior to his ouster, Stanikzai has lived in Doha for nearly a decade and became head of the group's political office there in 2015. He has taken part in negotiations with the Afghan government and has represented the Taliban on diplomatic trips. to several countries.

Zabihullah Mujahed, the main spokesman

AP

After the Taliban conquered Afghanistan the first press conference was addressed by Zabihullah Mujahed who was seen for the first time in public in Kabul. He played a significant role in conveying the group's message to the International community. He used to communicate with journalists only over the phone or via text messages.