After being ousted nearly 20 years ago, the Taliban is going to take control of Kabul once again.
After President Ashraf Ghani fled the country and Kabul was captured by fighters, the Taliban said that the war in Afghanistan was over and a new regime would be announced soon.
Hezbollah Akhundzada
Hezbollah Akhundzada is the Taliban’s most powerful leader and is considered final in the organization’s political, religious, and military affairs.
Akhundzada is a scholar of Islam religion and used to impart religious education in mosques before suddenly disappearing in 2016.
He is close to 60 years old and has no information about his current whereabouts. He has replaced former Taliban chief Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor.
Mullah Mohammed Jacob
Mullah Mohammad Jacob is the son of Taliban founder Mullah Omar and heads the Taliban’s military operations. According to local media reports, he is currently in Afghanistan.
Jacob, about 30, was declared the head of the organization on different occasions, but in 2016 he named Akhundzada as the Taliban’s biggest leader.
The Taliban says he does not have fighting experience.
Sirajuddin Haqqani
Sirajuddin Haqqani is the son of Mujahideen commander Jallaluddin Haqqani. He heads the Haqqani Network, which oversees the Taliban’s military and financial resources along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
The US has declared Sirajuddin as the most wanted terrorist. Some experts believe that the Haqqani Network launched suicide attacks in Afghanistan. The network has also carried out a suicide attack on the Indian Embassy and tried to assassinate former President Hamid Karzai.
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar
Baradar, one of the four founders of the Taliban, is currently the political head of the organization and was part of the team of negotiators in Doha.
Baradar, who is considered very close to Mullah Omar, was arrested from Karachi in 2010 and released for eight years.
He was active in Herat and Kabul region as a commander and strategist at the time of the formation of the Taliban. At that time, he used to raise Taliban funds.
Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai
Sher Mohammad Abbas, who was a minister in the Taliban government before being ousted from power, has been in Doha for a decade. It has also participated in talks with the Afghan government and has made diplomatic visits to several countries.