Meet Taliban's new chief Mullah Haibatullah Akhunzada

New Delhi, May 25: There is very little known about the new chief of the Taliban Moulavi Haibatullah Akhunzada. He was a deputy to Mullah Akthar Mansour who was killed in a drone strike and after much deliberation by the Taliban, he was chosen as the leader.

It appears as though the Taliban decided to go in for a low key personality. Moreover this is the for the second time in one year that the Taliban faced issues regarding succession.

Mullah Mansour was appointed Taliban chief after the death of Mullah Omar amidst protests and divisions within the outfit.

Mullah Haibatullah Akhunzada:
The very fact that there is very little known about the role of Haibatullah in the recent years itself is an indication that he is a low profile operative. He was part of the Taliban administration before they were removed from power in 2001.

A religious cleric, Haibatullah was the one who would issue the decrees on behalf of the Taliban.

Haibatullah Akhand served as a deputy to Chief Justice Mullah Abdul Hakim Akhand. He would supervise the administration of the Taliban courts when their government was in power at Afghanistan.

The next time that his name started doing the rounds was when Mullah Omar died. There was a succession issue and after much debate and protest Mullah Mansour was appointed as the Chief of the Taliban. At that time, Haibatullah was made the deputy chief. The decision to appoint him as the chief was taken at a meeting held in Pakistan.

So far there have been no protests within the Taliban ranks. The task ahead for Haibatullah is a tough one. He is heading a fractured Taliban. Moreover he would need to carry forward the peace process that was started by Mansour.

Many feel that the Taliban is likely to spin out of control and the peace process would adversely affected as the outfit will look to avenge the death of Mansour.

OneIndia news