Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid, who appeared in front of the media for the first time in ten years at a press conference following the insurgent occupation of Kabul last month, said he was living in the Afghan capital right under the noses of his opponents, who called him for a ‘ghostly’ figure during the war.
Mujahid, who operated in the shadows for years, also admitted to studying at the Haqqania seminary in Nowshera in northwestern Pakistan, also known internationally as the Taliban University or “University of Jihad”.
“They (the US and Afghan National Forces) thought I didn’t exist,” Mujahid told the Express Tribune in an interview.
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“I have escaped their raids and attempts to contain myself so often that they seriously thought ‘Zabiullah’ was a fictional character, not a real man who exists,” said the 43-year-old spokesman.
“And yet I managed to move around freely in Afghanistan. I think this awareness helped,” he said. “I’ve lived in Kabul for a long time, right under my nose. I’ve roamed the country. I’ve also managed to have first-hand access to the front lines where the Taliban carried out their actions, and up to date. ” It was pretty puzzling for our opponents. “
Given his shadowy appearance for years, there has been speculation as to whether the faceless speaker could possibly actually be more than one person.
“The US armed forces often paid out locals to get information about my whereabouts. With that information, I said they must have started dozens of intelligence operations in hopes of finding a trace of me, ”he said. “But I never left, or even thought of leaving Afghanistan.”
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Mujahid, who was born sometime in 1978 in Gardez district in Paktia province, said he specialized in Islamic law at Haqqania Seminary in northwest Pakistan.
The Taliban government Acting Minister of the Interior Sirajuddin Haqqani, Water and Energy Minister Mullah Abdul Latif Mansoor and Telecommunications Minister Najibullah Haqqani on the A black list – and Education Minister Maulana Abdul Baqi Haqqani studied at the Haqqania Seminary, which regularly receives scholarships from successive governments in Pakistan.
Mujahid said he became a Taliban spokesman after his predecessor was arrested. He also said he had never seen Taliban founder Mullah Umar. “But I worked with Sheikh Mullah Mansoor and Sheikh Hebatullah,” he said, referring to the successors of Mullah Omar.
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