The fighting in the Taliban appears to have ended in a ceasefire with warring factions Agreement on the top leader of the group Hibatullah (also written as Haibatullah) Akhundzada leads the government in Afghanistan. Hibatullah Akhundzada will likely be the titular chief, with one of his deputies, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, effectively handling the daily affairs of the Taliban government in Afghanistan.
AN ANNOUNCEMENT
Bilal Karimi, a member of the group, confirmed the development, saying: “The consultations on the formation of an inclusive Afghan government within the leaders of the Islamic Emirates with leaders of the previous government and other influential leaders have officially ended.”
Karimi said, “You have reached a consensus. We are about to announce a functioning cabinet and government in a few days, not weeks. “
This came amid reports of the struggle between various Taliban factions for a greater share of power in Afghanistan. To put an end to this, Hibatullah Akhundzada and Mullah Baradar are likely to appear publicly in Kabul soon.
While Mullah Baradar was in the public eye for a long time, especially during the peace negotiations in Doha, Qatar, Hibatullah Akhundzada was withdrawn and oriented himself towards Taliban founder Mullah Omar.
EMULATES MULLAH OMAR
Like Mullah Omar, Hibatullah Akhundzada is not seen in public. The Taliban only released one photo of their top leader. Mullah Omar also stayed out of the public eye, but his word was a top priority for the Taliban.
Hibatullah Akhundzada does not command mullah Omar-like respect from everyone within the Taliban, but he rules the upper hand. And just like Mullah Omar, Hibatullah Akhundzada has mainly stayed in Kandahar, the epicenter of the Taliban, while other leaders frequent Kabul, which has been the capital of Afghanistan since 1776.
Hibatullah Akhundzada derives his authority over the Taliban from his track record as a religious leader in the group. Both Mullah Omar and Mullah Mansour consulted Hibatullah Akhundzada on religious matters. This is known to all the top commanders of the Taliban.
He became Amir-ul-muminin, or commander of the faithful, in 2016 after the death of Mullah Mansour and after his name was proposed by Mullah Omar’s son Mohammed Yaqoob.
THE BEGINNING
Like Mullah Omar and Mullah Mansour, Hibatullah Akhundzada comes from Kandahar. He belongs to the Noorzai clan, a powerful tribe among the Pashtuns.
He joined the Taliban in the 1990s and received his first major government role in 1995 after the group captured the Afghan province of Farah. He was given the responsibility to drive down the crime curve. The position is said to have been given to him because of his strict manner and his knowledge of Sharia law.
Advance through the ranks
Hibatullah Akhundzada later received a position at the Taliban’s Military Tribunal in Kandahar, before being appointed Chief of the Military Tribunal in Nangarhar Province during the previous Taliban rule.
When US-backed forces ousted the Taliban from power in 2001, Hibatullah Akhundzada was promoted to deputy chief of the group’s Supreme Court. During the Taliban’s post-2001 exile, Hibatullah Akhundzada became the chairman of their council of religious leaders.
In 2015, the then Taliban leader, Mullah Mansour, appointed Hibatullah Akhundzada as his deputy in the group hierarchy. Officially, he was one of the three deputies, but Mullah Mansour named Hibatullah Akhundzada as his successor in his will. The next year he became the supreme leader of the Taliban.
AS TALIBAN CHIEF
Hibatullah Akhundzada gained more respect and control over the Taliban from mid-2017 when his 23-year-old son led a Fidayeen (suicide bombing) attack. His son Abdur Rahman, alias Hafiz Khalid, drove a vehicle loaded with explosives to an Afghan military base in the southern Afghan province of Helmond.
His son had signed up as a suicide bomber before Hibatullah Akhundzada became Taliban chief, but even after he became chief he did not pull his son out of the suicide bomber squad.
His son died in the terrorist attack.
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