Mullah Hameedullah Akhundzada assumed his current position as Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation in the fall of 2021.
During the Taliban’s rule in the 1990s, he served as the head of the state-owned Ariana Airlines. After 2001, he was a senior member of the Taliban’s intelligence commission and played a crucial role in managing affairs within the group's military training centers.
In a press conference held in August 2022 in Kabul, Hameedullah Akhundzada highlighted the achievements of his ministry, reporting the restoration and operationalization of 26 airports across Afghanistan and emphasizing his ministry's role in shaping the country's transportation infrastructure under the current Taliban administration.
In its annual public briefing in late July 2025, his ministry reported that it currently operates international flights to several countries, including Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iran, Russia, Turkey, India, China, Uzbekistan, and Kuwait, among others. The ministry also reported that it oversaw more than 14,000 flights from Afghanistan’s airports in 2024, primarily from Kabul International Airport, along with over 96,000 transit flights using Afghanistan’s airspace. Furthermore, the ministry reported to have signed bilateral transportation agreements with Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Russia. It also issued around 24,000 road transportation licensing permits to Afghan and Pakistani drivers operating in Kabul, Kandahar, Quetta and Peshawar, the latter two cities located in Pakistan.
Hameedullah Akhundzada is listed on the United Nations sanctions list under the designation TAi.118.
