The Taliban’s leadership
Supreme leader
Haibatullah Akhundzada
Known as the ‘Leader of the Faithful’, the Islamic legal scholar is the Taliban's supreme leader who holds final authority over the group's political, religious, and military affairs
Sirajuddin Haqqani
The son of prominent mujahideen commander Jalaluddin Haqqani, Sirajuddin leads the Haqqani network, a loosely organised group that oversees the Taliban's financial and military assets across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar
One of the co-founders of the Taliban, Baradar now heads the political office of the Taliban. Baradar was captured in 2010 by security forces in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi and released in 2018
Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob
The son of Taliban founder Mullah Omar, Yaqoob oversees the group's military operations
Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai
A former deputy minister in the Taliban's government before its ouster, Stanekzai has lived in Doha for nearly a decade, and became the head of the group's political office there in 2015
Abdul Hakim Haqqani
Head of the Taliban's negotiating team. The Taliban's former shadow chief justice heads its powerful council of religious scholars and is widely believed to be someone whom Akhundzada trusts most
The Taliban’s leadership
Supreme leader
Haibatullah Akhundzada
Known as the ‘Leader of the Faithful’, the Islamic legal scholar is the Taliban's supreme leader who holds final authority over the group's political, religious, and military affairs
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar
One of the co-founders of the Taliban, Baradar now heads the political office of the Taliban. Baradar was captured in 2010 by security forces in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi and released in 2018
Sirajuddin Haqqani
The son of prominent mujahideen commander Jalaluddin Haqqani, Sirajuddin leads the Haqqani network, a loosely organised group that oversees the Taliban's financial and military assets across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border
Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob
The son of Taliban founder Mullah Omar, Yaqoob oversees the group's military operations
Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai
A former deputy minister in the Taliban's government before its ouster, Stanekzai has lived in Doha for nearly a decade, and became the head of the group's political office there in 2015
Abdul Hakim Haqqani
Head of the Taliban's negotiating team. The Taliban's former shadow chief justice heads its powerful council of religious scholars and is widely believed to be someone whom Akhundzada trusts most