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.
Mullah Mansour- An uncomfortable Taliban commander
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