Qari Salahuddin Ayoubi, a prominent Uzbek commander within the Taliban, is the current Chief of Police in Zabul province, as of October 2023. He previously held the role of Deputy Minister of Policy and Planning at the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development from March 2022 to March 2023. In the past, Salahuddin Ayoubi was part of the Taliban's military unit active in the central region, including Kabul. He served as the Taliban’s shadow governor for Faryab province. In 2015, Ayoubi was captured by Afghan intelligence in Herat province while en route to Pakistan but was later released. On August 15, 2021, the day of the Taliban's seizure of power in Kabul, Ayoubi was among the first group of Taliban members to enter the Afghan presidential palace. Later, he briefly served as the chief of staff at the 203 Mansoori Military Corps in Gardez, Paktia province. Noteworthy is Ayoubi's status as an ethnic Uzbek commander within the predominantly Pashtun leadership of the Taliban government, which adds an important layer of complexity to the inner workings of the Taliban organization involving differences among the rank and file.
