On September 7, the Taliban announced the United Nations-approved Taliban veteran Mullah Mohammed Hassan Ahund as the leader of its new government, while providing key positions for some senior officials of the movement. (Photo: Aamir QURESHI / AFP) (Photo: Aamir QURESHI/AFP via Getty Images)
Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund was appointed as the new leader of the Taliban government.
- He was the first foreign minister during the Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001.
- He is from Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban.
Nearly three weeks after the Taliban seized control of the country, the Taliban appointed Mullah Mohammed Hassan Ahund to lead their new interim government.
Mullah Akhund is the long-term head of the Taliban’s powerful decision-making body Rehbari Shura, or leadership committee. During the Taliban’s last rule from 1996 to 2001, he served successively as Minister of Foreign Affairs and then Deputy Prime Minister, before being appointed as the leader of the new government on Tuesday.
Ahund is on the UN sanctions list and was the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the former Taliban regime in the 1990s.
Co-founder of Taliban Abdul Ghani Baradar Was appointed as Mullah Ahund’s deputy.
Like many in the Taliban leadership, Mullah Ahund’s reputation derives from his closeness with the first leader of the movement, Mullah Mohamed Omar, who lived in seclusion.
He is from Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban.
A UN sanctions report described him as a “close partner and political adviser” to Omar.
Taliban sources told Reuters that Ahund is highly respected in the movement, especially its supreme leader, Haibatullah Ahoundzada.
Some observers believe that Ahund, who is believed to be in his 60s or even older, is more a political figure than a religious figure, and his control of the leadership committee also gives him a say in military affairs.
Mullah Akhund has the Pashtun descent of Ahmad Shah Durrani, the founder of modern Afghanistan (circa 1700s).
He played a vital leadership and guiding role in the Quetta Shura Leadership Council, which was established after the Taliban were ousted from power during a US-led military invasion in 2001.
He is the author of several books on Islam.
