With the Taliban's imminent announcement of a new government to rule its Islamic emirate and the prediction that its amir Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada will lead the emirate, I thought it was fitting with a little bio of the future leader of #Afghanistan. 
While I'm no expert on Haibatullah, I managed to gather some information over the years.
A Pashtun born in 1961 in Panjwai district in Kandahar Province, Haibatullah grew up in a very religious family with his father occupying the position of imam in the local village mosque.
A Pashtun born in 1961 in Panjwai district in Kandahar Province, Haibatullah grew up in a very religious family with his father occupying the position of imam in the local village mosque.
The young Haibatullah initially studied under his father, but after the Soviet invasion the family fled to Quetta where Haibatullah continued his religious studies in a seminary. No surprise that he later would turn into one of the Taliban's foremost religious authorities.
After the Taliban's creation of the Islamic Emirate in 1995, Haibatullah started working in one of its ministries in Farah Province, but he quickly relocated to Kandahar where he became a teacher at a Quranic school under the supervision of Mullah Umar.
But because of his strong religious credentials, Haibatullah would also move on from teaching as he took on a position as shariah judge in the emirate. In this position he has authored a wealth of religious rulings (fatawa) and been a close religious advisor to Mullah Umar.
After Mullah Umar's death, Haibatullah became the deputy to the new amir Mullah Mansour and effective the number two in the Taliban hierarchy. One of his first endeavours was to reform the internal organisation of the Taliban.
Mansour lasted only one year, and in May 2016, Haibatullah was chosen as new amir and took on the title of Commander of the Faithful. Now he will soon add the title of Leader of Afghanistan to his CV.
Besides his more than 25 years of service to the Taliban, Haibatullah also suffered personal 'sacrifices'. In 2017 he lost his son Abdur Rahman who conducted a suicide mission against an Afghan army base in Gereshk, Helmand. He also lost his younger brother and father.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
