Filenews 17 August 2021
The Taliban are in the final stages of a complete recapture of power in Afghanistan, with the US passively monitoring developments and Western diplomats leaving Kabul one after the other.
Maybe the images that show the Taliban have caused anger, yet these people will have to control a country which is not only at the crossroads of the Middle East with the Far East, but which has already under its supervision a large part of the world's production of drugs that is now expected to circulate in large quantities and at low prices around the world.
Reuters presents and outlines the profiles of those who determine policy and lead the Taliban movement.
How they emerged in power
The Taliban have been at war with the West-backed Afghan government in Kabul since 2001, when they were removed from power.
Initially drawing members from the so-called "mujahedin" militants, who, with the support of the United States, opposed Soviet forces in the 1980s, emerged in 1994 as one of the sides of the civil war, and continued to control most of the country until 1996, when they imposed Islamic law.
Their opponents, as well as the West, accuse the Taliban of applying the most extreme and violent version of Islamic law and suppressing religious minorities.
The Taliban have been advancing again militarily in Afghanistan since foreign troops began withdrawing from the region and occupying most of the country's territory and control over the capitals of 10 of the 34 provinces.
The founder and first leader of the Taliban is Mullah Mohammad Omar, who was in hiding after being overthrown by US-backed local forces after the attack of 11 September 2001.
The place where Omar hid was so secret that his death in 2013 was only confirmed after two years by his son.
The six key persons
The Reuters agency even presents the six key figures who are pulling the strings in the Taliban organisation.
Haibatullah Aksunzadha
Known as "the leader of the faithful," he is described as a scholar and scholar of Islamic law. He is the supreme leader of the Taliban who has the ultimate authority over the political, religious and military issues that preoccupy the Taliban.
Aksunzadha took over the post after his predecessor, Akhtar Mansour, was killed in a U.S. drone attack near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in 2016.
For 15 years, until his sudden disappearance in May 2016, Aksunzadha taught and preached in a mosque in Kutslak, a town in southwestern Pakistan, according to students and agency associates.
He is about 60 years old and it is not known where he is.
Mullah Mohammed Yacoub
The son of Taliban founder Mullah Omar, the 30-year-old Yacoub oversees the group's military operations and - according to local media - is in Afghanistan.
He was proposed as the general leader of the movement during various succession disputes.
However, he put Aksunzadha ahead in 2016 because he felt he was lacking in experience on the battlefield and was too young, according to a Taliban commander.
Sirajudin Haqqani
The son of prominent mujahedin commander Jalahuddin Haqqani, Sirajudin leads the Haqqani Network, an organized group that oversees the Taliban's economic and military assets on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
The Haqqqani are believed to have introduced suicide bombing in Afghanistan and have been accused of numerous attacks on key figures in Afghanistan, such as the raid on a top hotel in Kabul, the attempted assassination of then-President Hamid Karzai and the suicide attack on the Indian embassy.
Haqqani is about 50 years old and it is unknown where he is.
Mullah Abdul Ghani Barantar
One of the Taliban's co-founders, Barantar is head of the Taliban politburo and part of the team's negotiating team in Doha that was trying to reach a political agreement that could pave the way for a ceasefire and a more lasting peace in Afghanistan.
The process has not been able to make significant progress in recent months.
Barantar, believed to be one of Mula Omar's most trusted commanders, was arrested in 2010 by security forces in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi and released in 2018.
Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai
A former deputy minister in the Taliban government before his removal, Stanikzai has been living in Doha for nearly a decade and headed the group's politburo there in 2015.
He took part in negotiations with the Afghan government and represented the Taliban in diplomatic missions in many countries.
Abdul Hakim Haqqani
He heads the Taliban's negotiating team.
The former shadow head of the Taliban leads the powerful council of religious scholars and is widely believed to be trusted and held in high esteem by members of the Taliban.
