Mawlawi Sheikh Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, a religious hardliner, assumed his current position as Minister of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in September 2021. His close association with the Taliban's emir underscores not only his key position within the Taliban government but also his deep commitment to advancing the group's ideological agenda. In his current capacity, he oversees the Taliban’s morality police with an authoritarian zeal, ensuring the imposition and enforcement of Sharia law through the Ministry of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, which comprises three distinct components. The civilian sector engages with the public, providing guidance and admonitions on matters of virtue and vice. The second component focuses on military affairs, overseeing the security personnel of the Taliban from the ministries of defense and interior, along with the intelligence directorate. This component also extends its reach to include the management of dedicated military courts. The third facet includes the complaint section, ostensibly providing a platform for the general public to voice and register their grievances concerning the conduct and actions of the Taliban administration. Born in March 1971 to the late jihadi commander, Malak Habibullah, Khalid Hanafi is the brother of the late Mawlawi Rustam Hanafi, who served as the deputy minister for public works during the Taliban regime in the 1990s. His early education occurred in a madrassa in his native village of Kulam Shaheed in Nuristan province before pursuing advanced religious studies at Darul Uloom Haqqania in Pakistan, where he studied under Mawlawi Mohammad Sediq Deobandi. Khalid Hanafi subsequently taught Islamic studies (tafsir) for 22 years at different madrassas in Pakistan, including the Darul Uloom Arabia, Darul Uloom Ahia-ul Uloom, and Jamia Farooqia in Pakistan. During the Taliban’s insurgency, he served as the Taliban’s district governor for Nurgram, Du Aab, and Mandol districts in Nuristan province. He also operated as a shadow governor for Nuristan and Laghman provinces and played key roles in the Taliban’s commissions for invitation and guidance and civilian casualties. On December 8, 2023, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Sheikh Khalid Hanafi for his role in engaging in "serious human rights abuse, including killings, abductions, whippings, and beatings," adding him to the Treasury's Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List.
