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The dramatic fall of Afghanistan's government in the wake of the West's withdrawal has seen the Taliban take control of the nation in one week.

Now, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban commander is set to rule Afghanistan

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Four years ago, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar was languishing in a Pakistani prison after being arrested for masterminding the Taliban's brutal military campaign in Afghanistan.

📍Today he is poised to become the country's new president

The 54 year old combatant cut his teeth fighting Afghanistan's Soviet occupation.

⏳Baradar is arguably living proof of the old adage attributed to every Afghan insurgency: "You may have the watch," it goes, "but we have the time"

❌Baradar is not thought to speak English and does not court the media.

He was picked for negotiations as he is seen as one of the more politically pragmatic operators, however his words carry more than a hint of menace
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In a video message released on Sunday, in which he praised the "unexpectedly swift" Taliban take-over, Baradar promised to "serve the Afghan people and set an example for the rest of the world"
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Born in Afghanistan's central Uruzgan province, Baradar is said to have fought with the mujahideen against the Soviets before becoming one of the men who founded the Taliban in 1994.

He is thought to be married to the sister of Mullah Omar, the movement's late spiritual leader

2001: At the time of the US-led invasion, Baradar was serving as the Taliban's deputy defence minister.

After the movement's collapse, he is rumoured to have been part of a Taliban faction that sought conciliation with Hamid Karzai, the US-backed president

2008: Baradar was spearheading a vicious Taliban military comeback, devising a strategy known as "Ibrat" – meaning warning.

It emphasised targeted killings, kidnappings and the use of suicide bombers, aimed particularly at Afghans serving in the Western-backed government

2010: Baradar was arrested in a joint operation between the CIA and Pakistan's intelligence services.

They are said to have found him "accidentally" during a raid on a house in the port city of Karachi

2018: Baradar was released at the request of Zalmay Khalilzad - the US envoy to the then president Trump.

Khalilzad is said to have believed that Baradar would be willing to settle for a power-sharing arrangement in Afghanistan, there was scepticism among other US officials

2021: As Taliban forces seized Kabul on Sunday, the bespectacled 54-year old was understood to be heading to the Afghan capital from Qatar - where he led the militant group's peace negotiation team after his release from jail

❓Exactly what Baradar's vision for Afghanistan is will be is hard to predict.

While some say the Taliban have slightly modernised in recent years, reports on the ground talk of them continuing bans on women's education

In February last year, Baradar signed a peace agreement with the US.

He also met Mike Pompeo, who seemed confident that America could now treat its old foe as a working partner.

"We welcome the Taliban's commitments not to host international terror groups including Al-Qaeda"

With Baradar now poised to take power by force, that is just one of many "commitments" that could now be in question.

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