List of Taliban leaders

This is a list of Taliban leaders.

Leaders

Name	Position	Situation
Mullah Omar	Commander of the Faithful	Founder and spiritual leader of the Taliban Died in April 2013 in Afghanistan. He was confirmed dead in July 2015 by the Afghan government and then Taliban officials.[1]
Mullah Akhtar Mansour	Commander of the Faithful	Elected July 2015. Killed in May 2016 of a U.S. drone strike. The U.S. government, Afghan government, al-Qaeda, and the Taliban confirmed the death.
Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada	Commander of the Faithful	Elected May 2016 a few days after the US drone killed his predecessor.

Deputies and ministers

Name	Position	Situation
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar	Governor of Herat and Nimruz Province	One of the original founders of the Taliban along with Mullah Omar Said to be the Deputy leader of the Taliban[2] Captured by Pakistani forces in 2010[3][4][5][6] Released at the request of the United States government in 2018[7][8]
Mullah Obaidullah Akhund	Minister of Defense	Senior Taliban leader Captured by Pakistani forces, late February 2007[9] Died of heart disease in a Pakistan prison in 2010[10][11]
Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil	Foreign Minister	He was the last Foreign Minister in the Taliban government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.[12] Surrendered to Northern Alliance troops in Kandahar, 2001
Abdul Rahman Zahed	Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs	Allegedly created an impression that he entered Pakistan after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, but had returned before the end of 2001 to his home village in Loghar province;[13] at large Reported to be a leader in the Taliban's Quetta Shura.[1] Reported captured in late February 2010.[1]
Mullah Mohammed Hassan Akhund	First Deputy Council of Ministers	At large; spoke to Reuters by satellite telephone from an undisclosed location on May 4, 2003 Reported to be a leader in the Taliban's Quetta Shura.[14] Reported captured in late February 2010.[14]
Mohammad Nabi Omari	Minister of Communications	Was the Taliban's chief of communications Listed as a member of the Taliban leadership.[15]
Mullah Abdul Razaq	Commerce Minister	Afghan forces captured Razaq while scouring a rugged mountainous region north of Kandahar, April 1, 2003.[16] Razaq's son, Abdul, had been killed on September 5, 2002 as he tried to shoot President Hamid Karzai. Abdul Razaq testified he had merely started out as a civilian, conscripted into Afghanistan's civil service by the Pakistan who was promoted to Commerce Minister, without ever becoming a member of the Taliban.[17] He testified he had taken advantage of an amnesty Karzai offered when the Taliban fell, and had not been involved in politics since the fall of the Taliban.
Mullah Khaksar Akhund	Deputy Minister of Interior Affairs	Staged a public press conference in Kabul, late November, 2001 and denounced the Taliban; by August 2002, he supports the U.S.-backed Afghan government of Hamid Karzai;[18] at large
Qari Ahmadullah	Minister of Security (Intelligence)	Supposedly killed in late December 2001 by a United States bombing raid in the Paktia province.[19] 12 years after the incident, an investigation by Harper's Weekly alleged that Ahmadullah is alive.[20]
Abdul Haq Wasiq	Deputy Minister of Intelligence	Served as Deputy Minister of Intelligence in the Taliban Intelligence Service.[21] Served as acting Minister of Intelligence when Qari Ahmadullah was away from Kabul performing his duties as governor of Tahar province.[21] Arrived at the Guantanamo detention camps on January 11, 2002, and he was held there until 31 May 2014.[22]
Mullah Nooruddin Turabi	Minister of Justice	Allegedly sheltered in Quetta by Pakistani officials by the end of 2001;[13] captured by United States forces and then set free and given general amnesty in early January 2002[23][24]
Amir Khan Muttaqi	Minister of Culture & Information	Allegedly moved to Peshawar, Pakistan before the end of 2001 and still "hiding out in the Pakistani frontier" March 19, 2002;[13][25] still at large
Mullah Ghausuddin		Killed in a gun battle in Zabul province, May 27, 2003[26]
Mullah Abbas Akhund		* In February 2002, he was "hiding with his military force about 5 miles from Uruzgan village";[27] at large
Mawlawi Abdul Raqib	First Deputy Council of Ministers	Unknown (is he the same Abdul Raqib as the official from the agriculture department in 2003?[28])

Governors

Governors

Name	Position	Situation
Mawlawi Abdul Kabir	Governor of Nangrahar Province	Head of Eastern Zone; (also see above) Allegedly moved to Peshawar, Pakistan before the end of 2001[29] Reported to be a leader of the Taliban's Quetta Shura.[14] Reported captured February 20, 2010, in Nowshehra. Later released.[14][30]
Mullah Khairullah Khairkhwa	Governor of Herat Province and Minister of the Interior	Khairullah was one of the original Taliban members who launched the movement in 1994.[31] Former Governor of Herat Province [32][33] He was directly associated with Taliban Supreme Commander Mullah Muhammad Omar.[34]
Mawlawi Norullah Noori	Governor of Balkh Province	Head of Northern Zone Former Governor of Balkh Province.[35] In December 2001, he was captured and known to be in Mazar-I Sharif in the custody of Afghan Northern Alliance commander Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum;[36] Has been held in Guantanamo since its opening.[37][38] Guantanamo analysts alleged he had been the chief bodyguard for the "Governor of Mazari Sharif" [sic], and had served as the acting governor in his absence.[39][40]
Na'im Kucki	Governor of Bamian Province	At large A tribal leader of the Kuchi people.[41] Former Minister of Tribal Affairs.[42] Held in Guantanamo for several years.[42]
Mawlawi Ahmad Jan	Governor of Zabul Province	Sanctioned by the United Nations in 2000.[43][44][45] Reported to be a leader in the Taliban's Quetta Shura.[14] Reported captured in late February 2010.[14]
Mullah Hassan Rehmani	governor of Kandahar province	Reported to be a leader in the Taliban's Quetta Shura.[14] Reported captured in late February 2010.[14]
Mullah Mir Muhammad	shadow governor of Baghlan province in 2010	Reported to be a leader in the Taliban's Quetta Shura.[14] Reported captured in late February 2010.[14]
Mullah Abdul Salam	shadow governor of Kunduz province in 2010	Reported to be a leader in the Taliban's Quetta Shura.[14] Reported captured in late February 2010.[14]
Mullah Abdul Salaam Alizai	Governor of Orūzgān Province in the 1990s	Defected to the government in December 2007.[46]

Other high-ranking officials, ambassadors and envoys abroad

Name	Position	Situation
Abdul Salam Zaeef	Ambassador to Pakistan	He was the Afghan ambassador to Pakistan before the US invasion of Afghanistan.[47] Detained in Pakistan in the fall of 2001 and held in Guantanamo Bay until 2005
Sayed Rahmatullah Hashemi	Envoy to United States
Abdul Hakim Mujahid	Envoy to the United Nations	Arrived in Pakistan in early December 2001[48]
Hammdidullah, aka Janat Gul	Head of Ariana Afghan Airlines	Surrendered November 24, 2001 east of Konduz.[49] Status later established by a Combatant Status Review Tribunal as "no longer enemy combatant" and released.[50]

Field commanders

Name	Position	Situation
Mullah Mohammad Fazl	Chief of Staff	He was the former Taliban Deputy Defense Minister[51] Held at Guantanamo Bay from 11 January 2002 until 31 May 2014.[22]
Mullah Dadullah	senior military commander	Escaped from the siege of Kunduz in November 2001 and reached Kandahar. Took part in the evacuation of Kandahar, then may have returned to his native town Kajai in Helmand province.[29] Allegedly participated (by giving orders via cell phone) in the murder of Ricardo Munguia on March 27, 2003. He was nicknamed by the anti-Taliban resistance before the Taliban government fell as the Lame Englishman because he a) lost a leg in the jihad and because b) he's as cunning as the devilish English. One of the most effective commanders in the resistance, he has been linked to massacres of Shi'a, the scorched earth policy of Shi'a villages in 2001 (about which he once boasted on the radio), the summary execution of men suspected of throwing hand grenades into his compound in 2001 (they were hanged at one of the main roundabouts), and suicide bombings. Killed on May 13, 2007.
Jalaluddin Haqqani	military leader	First mujahideen commander to capture a city, Khost, from the government of Kabul, in 1991.[52] Didn't ally with the Taliban until after their capture of Kabul in 1995. Hamid Karzai asked him to serve as Prime Minister, in an attempt to split off the Taliban's moderate wing. His death from disease was announced 3 September 2018
Abdul Razaq Nafez	field commander	Released by Abdul Rashid Dostam in November 2001 after fighting near Kunduz and disappeared after fleeing to Kandahar[29]
Mullah Shahzada	provincial commander	A commander prior to the U.S. invasion, he was captured after the defeat of the Taliban and was interred in Guantanamo. He managed to convince authorities he was instead a civilian detained in error, and was released in 2003. He returned to fighting and was killed in 2004.[53]
Mullah Muhammad Hasan Rehmani	militia commander	At large In early 2010 an individual named "Mullah Hassan Rehmani" was reported to have been a recently captured leader of the Taliban's Quetta Shura.[14] He was alleged to have been a former governor of Kandahar. A second recently captured Taliban leader was named "Mullah Muhammad Hassan". He was alleged to have been a former Taliban foreign minister.
Gul Mohammed Jangvi	field commander	On July 19, 2006 explained the Taliban's unexpected withdrawal from Helmand.[54]
Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Osmani	field commander	Killed in U.S. airstrike in December 2006. Confirmed dead by Taliban officials.[55]
Mullah Abdul Zahir	group commander	Killed in the U.S. airstrike that killed Osmani in December 2006[56]
Mufti Nemat	field commander	Important Taliban leader in northern Afghanistan, particularly Jowzjan Province, who was later expelled from the movement, defecting to the Afghan government, and then to Islamic State's Khorasan Province (ISIL-K)[57][58]
Sheikh Ilyas Khel	Commander	Captured in Pakistan as of August 2, 2007

Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan leaders

Name	Position	Situation
Maulana Fazlullah	Commander	Leader of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan and former Taliban head in Swat District, Pakistan,[59][60] was believed to be residing in Kunar Province Afghanistan.[61] Swore allegiance to Mullah Mohammed Omar [62] Killed on June 13, 2018.

See also

• Quetta Shura

References

1. "Taliban conflict: Afghanistan probes Mullah Omar 'death' claim". BBC News. 29 July 2015.
2. "Pakistan frees Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in bid to ease tensions". 21 September 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
3. Shah, Saeed (2010-02-16). "Afghanistan's No. 2 Taliban leader captured in Pakistan". McClatchy News Service. Retrieved 2010-02-13.
4. "Capture may be turning point in Taliban fight". CNN. 2010-02-16. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
5. "Taliban leader's arrest a new blow to insurgents". Yahoo! News. Associated Press. 16 Feb 2010.
6. A White house spokesman shortly afterwards described his capture "a big success for our mutual efforts in the region", Patricia Zengerle (17 Feb 2010). "White House hails capture of Taliban leader". AP Newswire.
7. Mashal, Mujib; Shah, Taimoor (October 25, 2018). "Taliban Deputy Is Released Amid Push for Afghan Peace Talks" – via NYTimes.com.
8. "Pakistan frees Taliban co-founder at US request; will play constructive role in Afghan peace initiative". National Herald.
9. 'Taleban leader held' in Pakistan, BBC News, March 2, 2007
10. "Taliban announces death of ex-defense minister in 2010". Fox News. 2012-02-13.
11. "Taliban announce death of ex-defense minister". Yahoo News. 13 February 2012.
12. "Profile: Wakil Ahmad Mutawakil". BBC. February 9, 2002. Retrieved 2007-07-01.
13. Former minister says fugitive Taliban leaders living life of luxury in Pakistan, The Guardian, December 24, 2001
14. Amir Mir (2010-03-01). "Pakistan wipes out half of Quetta Shura". The News International. Archived from the original on 2010-03-09. According to well-informed diplomatic circles in Islamabad, the decision-makers in the powerful Pakistani establishment seem to have concluded in view of the ever-growing nexus between the Pakistani and the Afghan Taliban that they are now one and the same and the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Quetta Shura Taliban (QST) could no more be treated as two separate Jihadi entities.
15. Benjamin Wittes, Zaathira Wyne (2008-12-16). "The Current Detainee Population of Guantánamo: An Empirical Study" (PDF). The Brookings Institution. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-06-01. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
16. "Fresh fighting in Afghanistan". BBC News. 2003-04-02. Retrieved 2009-06-29.
17. OARDEC (2005-12-16). "Summary of Administrative Review Board Proceedings of ISN 1043" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. pp. 64–82. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-03-07. Retrieved 2008-04-02.
18. Paras on alert for storming of Kandahar, The Telegraph, November 25, 2001
19. Taleban spy chief 'killed in raid', BBC, January 3, 2002
20. Mashal, Mujib. "The Pious Spy: A Taliban intelligence chief's death and resurrection". Harper's Magazine (January 2014).
21. OARDEC (18 July 2005). "Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Wasiq, Abdul Haq" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 December 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-27.
22. "Terror suspects freed by Obama admin. for soldier were labeled 'high risk' in 2008: report - Washington Times". The Washington Times.
23. US begins transferring terror prisoners to Cuban base: Gunfire errupts [sic] as plane with al-Qaida members takes off, Boston Globe, January 10, 2002
24. High-Ranking Taliban Leaders Surrender, Are Set Free, Fox News, January 9, 2002
25. Taliban Vow Revenge, CBS News, March 19, 2002
26. Taliban commander killed in Afghanistan, Daily Times, May 28, 2003
27. How the U.S. Killed the Wrong Afghans, Time (magazine), February 6, 2002
28. "Institute for War and Peace Reporting".
29. Carroll, Rory (2001-12-24). "Former minister says fugitive Taliban leaders living life of luxury in Pakistan". The Guardian. London.
30. Filkins, Dexter (2010-03-24). "After Arrests, Taliban Promote a Fighter". The New York Times.
31. Jeffrey Dressler; Isaac Hock (6 April 2012). "Releasng Taliban detainees: A misguided path to peace" (PDF). Understanding War. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
32. "Taliban blames foes of killing mine-clearers". Independent Online. 2000-08-07. The Taliban Governor in the province, Mullah Khairullah Khairkhwa, has blamed the opposition Northern Alliance for the attack, saying the assailants have been arrested. The oppositions reaction was not immediately available.
33. "Red Cross: Families ID detainees in list". USA Today. 2006-04-20.
34. "Who Are The 5 Guantanamo Detainees In Prisoner Swap? - Nation & World News". wuft.org.
35. "US Likely to Release Top Taliban Leaders from Gitmo". Outlook Afghanistan. 2012-01-05. Archived from the original on 2012-01-12. Retrieved 2012-01-12. According to Haqyar, Mullah Noorullah Noori was a resident of Shah Joy district in Zabul province and had served as governor for Laghman, Baghlan and Balkh provinces.
36. "Afghanistan: Three Afghan Commanders Should Be Prosecuted" (Press release). Human Rights Watch. December 3, 2001. Archived from the original on 2004-06-03.
37. "List of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from January 2002 through May 15, 2006" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. Retrieved 2006-05-15.
38. "Measurements of Heights and Weights of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (ordered and consolidated version)" (PDF). Center for the Study of Human Rights in the Americas, from DoD data. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-13. Retrieved 2010-03-04.
39. OARDEC (August 8, 2004). "Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal -- Noori, Mullah Norullah" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. pp. 7–8. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 2, 2007. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
40. Mazari Sharif is not a Province.
41. Archie McLean (2009-03-06). "Afghan nomads now tied to a desperate land". Edmonton Journal. Archived from the original on 2009-03-15. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
42. Tom Lasseter (June 15, 2008). "Guantanamo Inmate Database: Naim Kochi". McClatchy News Service. Archived from the original on September 20, 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
43. "Security council committee on Afghanistan designates further individuals, financial entities relating to resolution 1267 (1999) and 1333 (2000)". United Nations. 2000-04-12. Archived from the original on 2009-08-11. In a note verbale addressed to Member States on 12 April 2000, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1267 (1999) concerning Afghanistan designated funds and financial resources of the Taliban as per paragraph 4(b) of that resolution and approved a list of entities and/or persons that have so far been identified by the Committee based on information provided by Member States as falling under one of the categories mentioned in the above note, as well as in Press Release SC/6844. The following entities have been added to the list ... Maulavi Ahmad Jan, Governor of Zabol Province
44. "Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1267 (1999) concerning Al-Qaida and the Taliban and Associated Individuals and Entities". United Nations. 1999-10-15. Archived from the original on 2010-06-12.
45. "The Consolidated List established and maintained by the 1267 Committee with respect to Al-Qaida, Usama bin Laden, and the Taliban and other individuals, groups, undertakings and entities associated with them". United Nations. 2010-01-25. Archived from the original on 2010-03-06. TI.A.109.01. Name: 1: AHMAD JAN 2: AKHUNZADA 3: na 4: na
46. Aziz Ahmad Shafe; Mohammad Ilyas Dayee; Jean MacKenzie (2010-06-03). "Making Musa Qala Work". IWPR. Archived from the original on 2013-02-21. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
47. Abdul Salam Zaeef (2010). "Torture and Abuse on the USS Bataan and in Bagram and Kandahar: An Excerpt from "My Life with the Taliban" by Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef". Archived from the original on 28 August 2011. We were not permitted to talk to each other, but could see one another while the food was handed to us. I eventually saw that Mullahs Fazal, Noori, Burhan, Wasseeq Sahib and Rohani were all among the other prisoners, but still we could not talk to each other.
48. "Taleban 'defectors' in Kandahar appeal". BBC News. 2001-12-04.
49. Taliban in north surrender in droves Archived 2007-03-12 at the Wayback Machine, CNN, November 24, 2001
50. "Guantanamo Bay Detainees Classified as "No Longer Enemy Combatants"". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2007-02-04. Retrieved 2008-03-26.
51. Lawmakers may seek to block Taliban transfer by Mark Hosenball and Missy Ryan. January 6, 2012.
52. Through the eyes of the Taliban, Asia Times, May 5, 2004
53. "THE REACH OF WAR; U.S. Said to Overstate Value Of Guantánamo Detainees". The New York Times. 21 June 2004.
54. "Asia Times Online :: South Asia news - Taliban pause for fresh breath". atimes.com.
55. "Taliban official admits U.S. strike killed military chief: report". CBC News. December 27, 2006.
56. "Information missing". Paktribune.
57. Obaid Ali (18 September 2017). "Non-Pashtun Taleban of the North (4): A case study from Jawzjan". Afghanistan Analysts Network. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
58. Jai Kumar (4 April 2018). "IS and its disastrous influence in Afghanistan". The Pioneer. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
59. "Mullah Radio: Pakistan urges Afghan action against Maulvi Fazlullah". The Express Tribune News. 17 October 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
60. Hasan, Syed Shoaib (10 July 2009). "Swat Taliban chief 'near death'". BBC News. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
61. "Fazlullah has Mulla Omar's backing". November 8, 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
62. "Pakistani Taliban Fires Spokesman Over ISIS Pledge of Allegiance". October 22, 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2014.