Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada is the current and third Supreme Leader of the Taliban's Islamic Emirate, a position he has held since 2016. During the Afghan resistance against Soviet forces, he reportedly fought alongside Haji Mohammad Akhund and the Hezb-e-Islami group, led by veteran jihadi commander Mawlawi Mohammad Younus Khalis. After the Taliban's removal from power in 2001, Akhundzada immersed himself in religious scholarship and took on key roles as a judge and later as the head of the Taliban's judiciary. As the leading clerical authority, he issued numerous fatwas (religious pronouncements) that legitimized various aspects of the Taliban's operations, including suicide attacks. His son, Hafiz Abdul Rahman, reportedly conducted a suicide attack against Afghan forces in Helmand province in 2017.
In 2016, Ayman al Zawahiri, then-leader of al-Qaeda, pledged allegiance to Akhundzada, a pledge that remains unbroken. Since the Taliban's takeover in August 2021, Akhundzada’s leadership has been decisively marked by his issuance of over 550 directives, including religious edicts and decrees, from July 2022 through the end of November 2023. These directives address critical issues such as general amnesty, Islamic governance, public services, and a restrictive interpretation of women’s rights in Islam—imposing severe limitations on their education and employment. They also address the role of the morality police in enforcing virtue and preventing vice, as well as counternarcotics. Despite his influential position, Akhundzada maintains no virtual presence and remains largely out of the public eye (his photograph is unverified). Despite his central role as the Taliban’s emir, Akhundzada is not currently listed on the United Nations or other international sanctions list.
