| Template:Unbulleted list center Mohammad Yaqoob محمد یعقوب | |
|---|---|
| |
| Yaqoob in 2022 | |
| Acting Minister of Defense | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 7 September 2021 | |
| Prime Minister | Hasan Akhund (acting) |
| Deputy | Mohammad Fazl (acting) Abdul Qayyum Zakir (acting) |
| Leader | Hibatullah Akhundzada |
| Preceded by | Abdul Qayyum Zakir (acting) |
| Second Deputy Leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 15 August 2021 Serving with Sirajuddin Haqqani and Abdul Ghani Baradar | |
| Preceded by | Sarwar Danish (as Second Vice President) |
In office 25 May 2016 | |
| Leader | Hibatullah Akhundzada |
| Preceded by | Sirajuddin Haqqani |
| Head of the Commission of Military Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 7 May 2020 | |
| Deputy | Ibrahim Sadr |
| Preceded by | Ibrahim Sadr |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1990 (age 34–35) |
| Nationality | Afghan |
| Ethnicity | Pashtun |
| Religion | Sunni Islam |
| Political affiliation | Taliban |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan |
| Service/branch | *Military Affairs Commission (2020–present)
|
| Commands | * Deputy Head of the Military Affairs Commission (Southwestern Zone) (2016–2020)
|
| Battles/wars | War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) |
Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid[1] (Pashto/Dari: محمد یعقوب, Pashto pronunciation: [mʊˈhamad jaˈqub], Template:IPA-prs; born 1990) is an Afghan Islamic scholar, cleric, and Islamist militant[2] who has served as the second deputy leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Taliban) since 2016. Since the 2021 fall of Kabul, this position has made him the de facto second deputy head of state of Afghanistan. He has also been the Taliban's military chief since 2020, and is the acting defense minister of Afghanistan in the Islamic Emirate's caretaker cabinet.
Biography[]
Yaqoob is an ethnic Pashtun of the Hotak tribe, which is part of the larger Ghilji branch. He is the eldest son of the late Taliban founder Mohammed Omar.[3] He received his religious education in various seminaries in Karachi, Pakistan.[4]
When his father died in April 2013 and rumors escalated that he had been assassinated by rival Akhtar Mansour, Yaqoob denied the rumor, insisting that his father had died of natural causes.[5]
Leadership positions[]
In 2016, Yaqoob was assigned by the Taliban to be in charge of the military commission in 15 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces. The military commission, then headed by Ibrahim Sadr, is responsible for overseeing all military affairs of the Taliban. In addition, Yaqoob was included in the Taliban's top decision-making council, the Rehbari Shura.[6]
Mansour's death was announced on 21 May 2016 and he was replaced by Hibatullah Akhundzada as the Taliban leader. Sirajuddin Haqqani, a deputy to Mansour and leader of the Haqqani network, retained his position as Taliban deputy leader to Akhundzada, and Yaqoob was appointed the second deputy to the Taliban chief.[7][8]
COVID-19 pandemic[]
On 7 May 2020 he was appointed head of the Taliban military commission, replacing Sadr and making Yaqoob the insurgents' military chief.[9] On 29 May 2020, influential senior Taliban commander Mualana Muhammad Ali Jan Ahmed told Foreign Policy that Yaqoob became the acting leader to the entire Taliban after Akhundzada and First Deputy Leader Sirajuddin Haqqani became ill with COVID-19, stating "Our hero, the son of our great leader, Mullah Yaqoob, is running the entire Taliban operation in Haibatullah's absence."[10]
Provisional Taliban government[]
Yaqoob is the acting defense minister of Afghanistan in the Caretaker Cabinet of the Islamic Emirate, appointed on 7 September 2021.[11]
Views[]
Mohammed Yaqoob supported a negotiated settlement to the War in Afghanistan. An avid supporter of former leader of the Taliban Akhtar Mansour, Yaqoob is pro-Saudi, has a reputation as a peace-advocating moderate, and is believed to have ties with the former government of Afghanistan.[12]
References[]
- ↑ "Acting Defense Minister visits 205th Al-Badr corps". Helmand. 13 March 2022. https://alemarahenglish.af/?p=50693.
- ↑ Bezhan, Frud (27 August 2020). "The Rise Of Mullah Yaqoob, The Taliban's New Military Chief". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. https://www.rferl.org/a/the-rise-of-mullah-yaqoob-the-taliban-new-military-chief/30805362.html.
- ↑ "Database" (in en-gb). http://www.afghan-bios.info/index.php?option=com_afghanbios&id=3524&task=view&total=3299&start=1930&Itemid=2.
- ↑ Khan, Tahir (10 May 2020). "Mullah Omar's eldest son takes control of Taliban's military wing". Arab News. https://www.arabnews.pk/node/1672716/world. Archived 2020-05-15 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Ahmad, Jibran (14 September 2015). "Taliban's Mullah Omar died of natural causes in Afghanistan, son says". https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-taliban-idUSKCN0RE0RC20150914. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
- ↑ "Senior Taliban military position given to Mullah Omar's son Mullah Yaqoob". Pakistan Today. April 5, 2016. http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2016/04/05/national/senior-taliban-military-position-given-to-mullah-omars-son-mullah-yaqoob/. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
- ↑ Gul, Ayaz (May 25, 2016). "Taliban Names New Leader, Confirms Mansoor Death". Voice of America VOA News. http://www.voanews.com/content/taliban-names-new-leader-confirms-mansoor-death/3345019.html. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
- ↑ "Taliban in Afghanistan: who is in charge?". The National. 18 August 2021. https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/asia/2021/08/18/taliban-in-afghanistan-who-is-in-charge/.
- ↑ Farmer, Ben (7 May 2020). "Taliban founder's son appointed military chief of insurgents". The Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/05/07/taliban-founders-son-appointed-military-chief-insurgents/. Archived 2020-05-12 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ O'Donnell, Lynne; Khan, Mirwais (29 May 2020). "Taliban Leadership in Disarray on Verge of Peace Talks". https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/05/29/taliban-leadership-disarray-coronavirus-covid-peace-talks/.
- ↑ "Hardliners get key posts in new Taliban government" (in en-GB). BBC News. 7 September 2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58479750.
- ↑ Bezhan, Frud (August 27, 2021). "The Rise Of Mullah Yaqoob, The Taliban's New Military Chief" (in en). https://www.rferl.org/a/the-rise-of-mullah-yaqoob-the-taliban-new-military-chief/30805362.html.
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