Afghanistan: Taliban leader with near-legendary status, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar
- Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar’s rise charts Taliban’s long road back to power
- Head of Taliban’s political office returned to Afghanistan this week
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar is now expected to play a key role in negotiations between the Taliban and officials from the Afghan government that the militant group deposed in its blitz across the country. The Taliban say they seek an “inclusive, Islamic” government and claim they have become more moderate since they last held power.
But many remain sceptical, and all eyes are now on Baradar, who has said little about how the group will govern but has proven pragmatic in the past.
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Who is the de facto Taliban leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar?
Baradar is the only surviving Taliban leader to have been personally appointed deputy by the late Taliban commander Mullah Mohammed Omar, giving Baradar near-legendary status within the movement. And he is more far more visible than the Taliban’s current supreme leader, Maulawi Hibatullah Akhunzada, who is believed to be in hiding in Pakistan and only releases occasional statements.