Who is Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar?

By Web Desk

After the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan 20 years later, the return of its leaders to their homeland has begun.

 

In this regard, there are reports that Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s deputy emir, is also likely to return to Afghanistan, returning to his homeland after 20 years, and may be given important responsibilities here.

 

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar is the Deputy Emir of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and is the same person who signed the peace agreement with the United States in 2020.

 

Mullah Abdul Ghani Akhund was born in 1968 in the Vitmak area of ​​Uruzgan Province. He belongs to the Durrani Pashtun tribe of Popalzai.

 

He was a youth companion of Mullah Mohammad Omar, the founding leader of the Taliban. The two appeared together in the Afghan jihad against the Soviet Union in 1980, where Abdul Ghani Akhund was the deputy emir of the Afghan Mujahideen.

 

Mullah Abdul Ghani Akhund was given the title of Baradar by his friend Mullah Muhammad Omar, after which he is known as Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar or Mullah Baradar.

 

He is one of the founders of the Taliban movement, and after the movement was formed in 1994, he became Mullah Mohammad Omar’s deputy.

 

There have been mixed opinions about what positions he held during the Taliban’s rule.

 

He is said to have been the governor of Afghanistan’s Herat and Nimroz provinces from 1996 to 2001, or to have been the corps commander of Afghanistan’s Western Command.

 

The US State Department in its document describes Mullah Bardar as Deputy Chief of Army Staff and Commander Central Army Corps Kabul during the Taliban regime.

 

According to Interpol, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar was the Deputy Minister of Defense during the Taliban regime.

 

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar had fled Afghanistan after the US-led invasion of the Taliban government in 2001.

 

There have been unconfirmed reports of Mullah Baradar’s arrest in Afghanistan and then in Pakistan, but he reappeared after talks on a peace deal with the United States began.

 

After the establishment of the Taliban’s political office in Qatar, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar became its in-charge.

 

He is also said to have overseen Taliban operations, running a council of leaders and finances for the Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar organization.