Hibatullah Akhundzada

Amir al-Mu'minin
Mullah
Mawlawi
Sheikh al-Hadith
Hibatullah Akhundzada
Amir al-Mu'minin; Mullah; Mawlawi; Sheikh al-Hadith; Hibatullah Akhundzada
هبت الله اخندزاده
	Akhundzada’s 1990 passport photograph, according to Taliban sources
Supreme Leader of Afghanistan
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 15 August 2021
Prime Minister	Hasan Akhund (acting)
Deputy	Sirajuddin Haqqani; Mullah Yaqoob; Abdul Ghani Baradar;
Preceded by	Ashraf Ghani (as President)
	In exile; 25 May 2016 – 15 August 2021; Acting: 21–25 May 2016
Deputy	Sirajuddin Haqqani; Mullah Yaqoob; Abdul Ghani Baradar;
Preceded by	Akhtar Mansour
First Deputy Leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
	In exile; 29 July 2015 – 25 May 2016
Supreme Leader	Akhtar Mansour
Preceded by	Akhtar Mansour
Succeeded by	Sirajuddin Haqqani
Chief Justice of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
	In exile; c. 2001 – 25 May 2016
Supreme Leader	Mullah Omar; Akhtar Mansour
Preceded by	Noor Mohammad Saqib
Succeeded by	Abdul Hakim Haqqani
Head of the Eastern Zone Military Court
	In office; c. 1996 – c. 2001
Supreme Leader	Mullah Omar
Head of the Military Court of Kabul
	In office; c. 1995 – c. 2001
Supreme Leader	Mullah Omar
Personal details
Born	1959 – 1961; Nakhuni, Panjwai District, Kandahar, Kingdom of Afghanistan
Residence	Kandahar
Ethnicity	Pashtun
Tribe	Durrani (Abdali)
Religion	Sunni Islam
Movement	Deobandi
Political affiliation	Taliban
Military service
Allegiance	Hezb-i Islami Khalis ; Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
Branch/service	1979–1992 ; 1996–2021
Battles/wars	Soviet–Afghan War; Afghan Civil War (1996–2001); War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)

Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada,^[a] also spelled Haibatullah Akhunzada,^[b] is an Afghan Deobandi cleric who is the supreme leader of Afghanistan in the internationally unrecognized Taliban regime. He has led the Taliban since 2016, and came to power with its victory over U.S.-backed forces in the 2001–2021 war. A highly reclusive figure, he has almost no digital footprint except for an unverified photograph and several audio recordings of speeches.

Akhundzada is well known for his fatwas on Taliban matters. Unlike many Taliban leaders, he is not of a militant background. He served as an Islamic judge of the Sharia courts of the 1996–2001 Taliban government. He was chosen to lead the Taliban’s shadow court system at the start of the Taliban insurgency, and remained in that post until being elected supreme leader of the Taliban in May 2016. Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of al-Qaeda, backed Akhundzada as the Amir al-Mu'minin, which strengthened Akhundzada's jihadist reputation among the Taliban's allies. In 2019, Akhundzada appointed Abdul Ghani Baradar to lead peace talks with the U.S., which led to the 2020 signing of the Doha Agreement that cleared the way for the full withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan.^[7]^[8]

Akhundzada led the Taliban to victory against the Afghan government in a 2021 military offensive—while the U.S. withdrawal was still underway—then became Afghanistan’s absolute ruler and imposed a totalitarian^[c] Islamic government. His government has been criticized for sweeping infringements on human rights, including the rights of women and girls to work and education. On his orders, the Taliban administration has prevented most teenage girls from returning to secondary school education. In July 2022, while attending a religious gathering in Kabul, Akhundzada lashed out at the demands of the international community on his government, ruling out any talks or compromise on his "Islamic system" of governance.

^ Dawi, Akmal (28 March 2023). "Unseen Taliban Leader Wields Godlike Powers in Afghanistan". Voice of America. Retrieved 6 May 2023. A photo of a man with a long black beard and wearing a white turban, believed to have been taken in 1990 for a passport, is the only image of Akhundzada circulating in the media. But it has never been officially confirmed as authentic.
^ "Dead or alive? On the trail of the Taliban's supreme leader". Agence France-Presse. Kandahar. France 24. 3 December 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2023. The Taliban have released just one photograph of Akhundzada – five years ago, when he took the group's reins. And even that photo, depicting him with a grey beard, white turban and a forceful gaze, was taken two decades prior, according to the Taliban... He looked "exactly the same" as in the famous photo, said Mohammad Musa, 13, who watched from afar.
^ Siddique, Abubakar (7 September 2021). "Who Is Haibatullah Akhundzada, The Taliban's 'Supreme Leader' Of Afghanistan?". Gandhara. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
^ Rahimi, Giti (31 October 2021). "Islamic Emirate's Leader Appears in Kandahar: Officials". TOLOnews (in Pashto). Retrieved 12 March 2022.
^ "Hibatullah Akhundzada reiterates his commitment to amnesty". The Killid Group (in Pashto). 22 November 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
^ "د ملا هيبت الله خبرداری: صفونه مو له نفوذي افرادو پاک کړئ". Deutsche Welle Pashto (in Pashto). 4 November 2021.
^ "Taliban Brings Released Leader Into Peace Talks With U.S." Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 25 January 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
^ Wheeldon, Tom (19 August 2021). "Who are the Taliban leaders ruling Afghanistan?". France24. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
^ Sakhi, Nilofar (December 2022). "The Taliban Takeover in Afghanistan and Security Paradox". Journal of Asian Security and International Affairs. 9 (3): 383–401. doi:10.1177/23477970221130882. S2CID 253945821. Afghanistan is now controlled by a militant group that operates out of a totalitarian ideology.
^ Madadi, Sayed (6 September 2022). "Dysfunctional centralization and growing fragility under Taliban rule". Middle East Institute. Retrieved 28 November 2022. In other words, the centralized political and governance institutions of the former republic were unaccountable enough that they now comfortably accommodate the totalitarian objectives of the Taliban without giving the people any chance to resist peacefully.
^ Sadr, Omar (23 March 2022). "Afghanistan's Public Intellectuals Fail to Denounce the Taliban". Fair Observer. Retrieved 28 November 2022. The Taliban government currently installed in Afghanistan is not simply another dictatorship. By all standards, it is a totalitarian regime.
^ "Dismantlement of the Taliban regime is the only way forward for Afghanistan". Atlantic Council. 8 September 2022. Retrieved 28 November 2022. As with any other ideological movement, the Taliban's Islamic government is transformative and totalitarian in nature.
^ Akbari, Farkhondeh (7 March 2022). "The Risks Facing Hazaras in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan". George Washington University. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2022. In the Taliban's totalitarian Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, there is no meaningful political inclusivity or representation for Hazaras at any level.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

[1] Dawi, Akmal (28 March 2023). "Unseen Taliban Leader Wields Godlike Powers in Afghanistan". Voice of America. Retrieved 6 May 2023. A photo of a man with a long black beard and wearing a white turban, believed to have been taken in 1990 for a passport, is the only image of Akhundzada circulating in the media. But it has never been officially confirmed as authentic.

[2] "Dead or alive? On the trail of the Taliban's supreme leader". Agence France-Presse. Kandahar. France 24. 3 December 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2023. The Taliban have released just one photograph of Akhundzada – five years ago, when he took the group's reins. And even that photo, depicting him with a grey beard, white turban and a forceful gaze, was taken two decades prior, according to the Taliban... He looked "exactly the same" as in the famous photo, said Mohammad Musa, 13, who watched from afar.

[3] Siddique, Abubakar (7 September 2021). "Who Is Haibatullah Akhundzada, The Taliban's 'Supreme Leader' Of Afghanistan?". Gandhara. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 22 April 2022.

[4] Rahimi, Giti (31 October 2021). "Islamic Emirate's Leader Appears in Kandahar: Officials". TOLOnews (in Pashto). Retrieved 12 March 2022.

[5] "Hibatullah Akhundzada reiterates his commitment to amnesty". The Killid Group (in Pashto). 22 November 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2022.

[7] "د ملا هيبت الله خبرداری: صفونه مو له نفوذي افرادو پاک کړئ". Deutsche Welle Pashto (in Pashto). 4 November 2021.

[9] "Taliban Brings Released Leader Into Peace Talks With U.S." Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 25 January 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2023.

[10] Wheeldon, Tom (19 August 2021). "Who are the Taliban leaders ruling Afghanistan?". France24. Retrieved 22 April 2023.

[11] Sakhi, Nilofar (December 2022). "The Taliban Takeover in Afghanistan and Security Paradox". Journal of Asian Security and International Affairs. 9 (3): 383–401. doi:10.1177/23477970221130882. S2CID 253945821. Afghanistan is now controlled by a militant group that operates out of a totalitarian ideology.

[12] Madadi, Sayed (6 September 2022). "Dysfunctional centralization and growing fragility under Taliban rule". Middle East Institute. Retrieved 28 November 2022. In other words, the centralized political and governance institutions of the former republic were unaccountable enough that they now comfortably accommodate the totalitarian objectives of the Taliban without giving the people any chance to resist peacefully.

[13] Sadr, Omar (23 March 2022). "Afghanistan's Public Intellectuals Fail to Denounce the Taliban". Fair Observer. Retrieved 28 November 2022. The Taliban government currently installed in Afghanistan is not simply another dictatorship. By all standards, it is a totalitarian regime.

[14] "Dismantlement of the Taliban regime is the only way forward for Afghanistan". Atlantic Council. 8 September 2022. Retrieved 28 November 2022. As with any other ideological movement, the Taliban's Islamic government is transformative and totalitarian in nature.

[15] Akbari, Farkhondeh (7 March 2022). "The Risks Facing Hazaras in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan". George Washington University. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2022. In the Taliban's totalitarian Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, there is no meaningful political inclusivity or representation for Hazaras at any level.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[a]

[b]

[7]

[8]

[c]