Three Senior Commanders Close To Mullah Hibatullah On ISIS' Radar
After the assassination of Taliban leader Khalil Haqqani, Abdul Ahad Talib, commander of his special forces; Mullah Shirin, the governor of Kandahar, and Yousuf Wafa, the governor of Balkh, have been asked to pay attention to their security.
Reliable sources in Kandahar told Afghanistan International that the Taliban leader has asked them to improve their security to prevent possible attacks.
The Taliban leader has representatives in various fields, but the person closest to him in the political and security arena is Mullah Shirin, the group's governor in Kandahar. Mullah Shirin is present in all of Mullah Hibatullah's meetings, and the Taliban leader values his views in many decisions.
According to sources, Hibatullah Akhundzada has spoken to district commanders and officials twice to review the security situation in Kandahar this month.
In security meetings, Mullah Shirin has repeatedly emphasised on the importance of cooperation and coordination between Taliban departments and officials and has ordered all security agencies to increase patrols and inspections.
Sources from Kandahar told Afghanistan International last Sunday (December 15) that following the assassination of Khalil Haqqani, searches and patrols have increased in Kandahar, and Taliban security personnel have interrogated individuals about their ID cards, location and duties.
A source said that after the assassination of Khalil-ur-Rehman Haqqani, Hibatullah has paid more attention to the security of his special circle and asked three people he trusted to provide security for their patrols and offices, and to take the necessary security measures during their meetings.
Who is Mullah Shirin and what role does he play?
Mullah Mohammad Ali Hanafi, also known as Mullah Shirin Akhund, is a resident of Zhiri district of Kandahar. He is one of the founders of the Taliban and is considered the closest person to the Taliban's first leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, and the current leader, Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada.
Mullah Shirin was also responsible for the security of the family of the first Taliban leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar. He has spent a lot of time with his family in Pakistan and Qatar.
In the past 20 years, Mullah Shirin was the architect and leader of many of the Taliban's wars and intelligence programmes against the former Afghan government, and was also a member of the Taliban's negotiating team in the Doha peace talks with the United States.
During the Taliban regime, he was the governor of Kandahar and Ghazni, the head of intelligence in the southern region, and an advisor to Taliban leaders in many areas. According to sources, Mullah Shirin had planned the assassination of General Abdul Raziq Achakzai, the former police chief of Kandahar.
After the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan, Mullah Shirin was first appointed governor of Kabul, then deputy defense minister for intelligence affairs, and on May 4, 2023, he replaced Yousuf Wafa as governor of Kandahar. He is also the head of the Taliban Commission, which regularly hold talks to resolve issues along the border with Pakistan.
Mullah Shirin's current role
Mullah Shirin is currently considered one of the most important and closest people in the political and security arenas to the group's leader, Hibatullah. Sources say that Mullah Shirin has extensive relations with Pakistan, which is why he held several meetings with Pakistani officials on behalf of Hibatullah to resolve political and security issues with Pakistan.
It is difficult to meet the leader of the Taliban and send him a direct message from foreign diplomats to members of the Taliban's cabinet. As a result, many ministers, governors, commanders, and heads of departments submit their monthly and annual reports to Mullah Shirin.
Many Taliban members are trying to reach out to the group's governor in Kandahar.
In the past three and a half years, many foreign diplomats, religious scholars, and representatives of countries have tried to meet with the Taliban leader in Kandahar, but he has not met with any party and has appointed Mullah Shirin as his representative for these meetings.
In September this year, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Afghanistan, Roza Otunbayeva, went to Kandahar but was unable to meet with Mullah Hibatullah.
Yousuf Wafa, Taliban governor in Balkh province
Aminullah, also known as Yousuf Wafa, is the Taliban's former governor in Kandahar province and the group's current governor in Balkh. He is a resident of Boldak district of Kandahar and is considered a close associate of the Taliban leader. Yusuf Wafa and Mullah Hibatullah are from the Noorzai tribe.
Yousuf Wafa led the war in the southern provinces of Afghanistan at the end of the fall of the republic and in some areas was in direct contact with Hibatullah via the telephone. During the previous Afghan government, he served as the Taliban's nominal governor, military commander, and war leader in Kandahar, Helmand, Uruzgan, Ghazni, Maidan Wardak, Nangarhar, and some other areas.
Yousuf Wafa was in Kandahar at the time of the fall of the republic, and on August 14, 2021, Ruhollah Khanzada, the former governor of Kandahar, handed over the province of Kandahar to him. Yousuf Wafa has been widely criticised in Kandahar province for his involvement in the murder of former government troops.
At the time of the fall of the previous Afghan government, he transported a large number of armored vehicles, weapons and ammunition to Pakistan, and for a long time his home was in Pakistan's Chaman city, where he traveled every Thursday. He and his family have close ties to Pakistan. On March 18, 2023, a few months after the assassination of Mohammad Daud Muzamil, the former governor of Balkh appointed Taliban leader Yousuf Wafa as the governor of Balkh.
Abdul Ahad known as Mawlawi Talib
Mawlawi Talib is from Helmand and one of the Taliban commanders. During the previous government, he was the Taliban's nominal governor in Helmand and participated in many wars. Mawlawi Talib was arrested twice by former Afghan forces and was imprisoned in Bagram prison for a long time. For the past 20 years, he has been an active member of the Taliban and a key part of the group's war machine.
Mullah Hibatullah has also formed a group of scholars with whom he consults on many issues. Mawlawi Malook Shah, the head of the Taliban's Ulema Council in Kandahar; his deputy Akhtar Mohammad Zafarani; Abdul Hakim Maghfoor; Mohammad Ismail, the head of the Helmand Ulema Council; Azizullah Tayyeb, the head of Zabul Ulema and the Ulema of Farah, Herat and Nimroz, and a number of others are in his circle.
Recommendations for security measures
The assassination of Khalil Haqqani, the Taliban's minister of refugee affairs, has raised security concerns among senior Taliban officials. These concerns come amid reports of disagreements between the Taliban in Kabul and Kandahar circles, and a number of Kabul-based Taliban leaders, especially members of the Haqqani Group, have criticised their leader for his harsh policies.
In light of these concerns and the activities of ISIS, the Taliban's intelligence agency in Kabul and the group's leader in Kandahar have increased their focus on security measures. The source said that based on the new security procedures, the movement of Taliban leaders may be restricted, and with the increase in security threats, the security of the Taliban's offices and vital institutions will also be intensified.
Richard Bennett, the UN special rapporteur on human rights, said that challenging the Taliban's repressive government and holding the group accountable is the collective responsibility of the world.
Bennett added that the "gender oppression" or "gender apartheid" prevailing in Afghanistan is inhumane.
Bennett, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights for Afghanistan, said in an interview with "Education Cannot Wait" on Wednesday that the systematic exclusion of women from life has irreparable consequences for Afghan society.
Over the past three years, the Taliban has gradually eliminated women and girls from the public sphere. Taliban leader Mullah Hibatullah has issued more than 70 restrictive decrees and instructions against women. These decrees, from the hijab to education, cover women's travel, voice, image, and work. In the most recent case, girls were also banned from education and study in medical institutes.
The UN special rapporteur on human rights stressed that challenging this horrific system and holding the Taliban accountable is the collective responsibility of the international community.
In a part of the interview, Richard Bennett discussed the effects of the ban on girls' education. The Taliban's actions have confined girls to the four walls of their homes and led them to depression, he said. According to him, as a result of the Taliban's repressive system, suicidal tendencies have increased and society has disintegrated.
He warned of the long-term consequences of banning girls' education, saying that the result of the exclusion of women from the public sphere is "an increase in poverty, exacerbation of gender inequality, an increase in gender-based violence and child marriage, forced child labour and other forms of exploitation".
He called the Taliban's treatment of women against human dignity and highly discriminatory, and said that the Taliban's organised measures against women are imposed and strictly implemented through decrees, and policies.
"These deprivations, collectively, are so severe and widespread that I have concluded that they may lead to crimes against humanity, particularly the crime of gender abuse," the UN special rapporteur said.
Referring to his conversations with Afghan women and girls, he said that they emphasise that the term gender apartheid is the most accurate description of the prevailing situation in Afghanistan and best illustrates the ideological and organised nature of the Taliban's discrimination and repression against women and girls.
He supported women's movements working to recognise gender apartheid and emphasised support for educational programmes for women.
The UN special rapporteur on human rights stated that the time has come to act to prevent the Taliban's increasing repression. "We cannot allow the dreams and capacities of millions of Afghan girls to be extinguished," he noted.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that 164 aid disruptions were recorded in Afghanistan in November this year, an increase of 56 percent compared to the previous month.
OCHA added that 99 percent of these interventions were implemented by Taliban officials.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA) on Wednesday (December 18) released a new report on barriers to humanitarian access in Afghanistan in November.
Access restrictions have led to the temporary suspension of 72 humanitarian projects and the permanent closure of two projects, the report said. According to the report, a humanitarian centre has also been temporarily closed during this period.
OCHA added that these incidents occurred mostly in the southern, central and western regions. Statistics show that these cases increased by 56% compared to the previous month and by 11% compared to the same time in 2023.
According to the report, during this period, cases such as planned intervention, requests for a list of employees and sensitive information, interference in the recruitment process, restrictions on the coverage of female employees, and preventing women from accessing services were recorded.
The report also shows that violence against humanitarian personnel, property and facilities increased by 37%, with six staff members arrested, two cases of physical violence and four cases of threats reported last month.
The UN added that these restrictions have been reported as an obstacle to the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Previously, there were reports of the Taliban's interference in the affairs of the United Nations humanitarian aid.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) previously announced that the Taliban had detained 113 employees of the organisation until mid-2023.
Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, the Taliban's deputy foreign minister, criticised the restrictions on the media at a meeting in Kabul. He called on the Taliban administration to strengthen the media and leave it free.
On Wednesday, December 18, the Taliban official said at a seminar on "The Role of the Media in Strengthening the Islamic System" in Kabul that the media should be viewed as "nationalists”.
He warned that too many restrictions and criticism of the media would do more harm than good.
"My request to the government and the Islamic Emirate (Taliban) is to strengthen and support our media," Stanekzai said.
He said that the media should not be troubled for minor issues, adding, "They should be free, and this is possible only when the distance between the emirate and the media is bridged."
At the same time, the Taliban's deputy foreign minister stressed that domestic media should fight against negative propaganda - according to him - "biased media" and show off the positive progress of the Taliban administration to the world.
On October 15, Saiful Islam Khyber, a spokesman for the Taliban's Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, announced that the law banning the publication of images of living beings would be implemented gradually across Afghanistan.
Banning images of living beings risks stopping television broadcasts.
In the visual media sector, the restriction was first implemented in Kandahar Province and then extended to provinces such as Takhar, Nangarhar and other areas. Some media outlets have practically stopped broadcasting in some provinces.
In a meeting with journalists, Taliban officials have said that they should refrain from publishing pictures of living creatures. They have emphasised that only audio should be broadcast on television.
Despite the suspension of some television stations in the provinces, private and public media outlets in Kabul continue to operate.
Organisations supporting journalists have expressed concern that if this law is fully implemented, the activity of visual media in Afghanistan will be practically stopped.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) announced that more than 1.2 million Afghan refugees from Pakistan and Iran have returned to Afghanistan in 2024.
More than 1.1 million people have entered the country from Iran, 80,500 from Pakistan, and 100,000 through the airport.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) published a report on Wednesday, December 18, on the occasion of World Migration Day, saying that in 2024, more than 1.1 million Afghans returned to Afghanistan from Iran without documentation, 66% of whom were forcibly deported. The organisation said that many of them reached the Afghan border with limited financial and material resources and went to areas of the country that are struggling with challenging economic conditions and high unemployment.
In its report, the organisation did not mention the number of migrants who left Afghanistan during this year.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) had announced in August this year that nearly eight million Afghan citizens have left their homeland between 2020 and 2024. The organisation said that one million Afghans have taken refuge in European countries and 85 percent have gone to neighbouring countries.
In addition to political and economic issues, Afghanistan is grappling with the devastating effects of climate change. In fact, climate change has replaced conflict as the main driver of displacement, the UN said.
Flash floods swept through five provinces in eastern and central Afghanistan in August this year. The homes of thousands of families were damaged, hundreds of people lost their lives, and the destruction of agricultural land led to increased food insecurity among the affected populations.
Four 6.3-magnitude earthquakes last year in Herat province affected more than half a million people, according to IOM humanitarian teams. A recent report by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) surveyed almost 240 households affected by last year's disaster in Herat and found that more than 80 percent of them still do not have access to toilets, decent living spaces and clean drinking water.
Across Afghanistan, communities have made the difficult decision to leave their homes and migrate inside and outside Afghanistan in search of better economic opportunities, stability and security to overcome disasters, economic instability and the lasting effects of decades of conflict, the UN said.
According to the organisation, after the Taliban takeover in 2021, the Afghan people have faced ongoing political and economic insecurity, along with a decline in freedom, especially for women. According to the World Bank, almost half of Afghans live in poverty, and women are disproportionately affected. Millions of families rely on remittances or humanitarian aid to survive.
A US State Department spokesperson said that Washington has the ability to engage with "designated terrorist groups" to advance US interests.
Matthew Miller said that the US has engaged with various groups, including the Taliban and Tahrir al-Sham, to advance its interests.
Asked at a news conference on Tuesday (December 17) whether Washington has interacted with groups such as the Taliban, ISIS and al-Qaeda in the past, Miller said, "We have that capability. But I am not aware of any interaction with al-Qaeda."
The US State Department spokesperson added, "We are engaging with the Taliban to advance the interests of the United States, and we are also interacting with Tahrir al-Sham, to find and bring back Austin Tice, an American journalist."
The US State Department had previously said that Washington continues to designate the Taliban as a "global terrorist organisation”. The ministry also stressed that it would not hesitate to engage with the Taliban for the benefit of the United States.
While the US and UN officials have repeatedly emphasised on engagement with the Taliban government, the policy remains controversial among Afghans.
Many Afghan human rights activists and politicians find it unacceptable to engage with a group that systematically violates the rights of citizens, especially women.
