MEI - Taliban

Mawlawi Abdul Hakim Sharayi assumed the position of Minister of Justice in September 2021. He also heads the Land Grab Prevention Commission. His extensive background in religious scholarship has shaped his hardline position on matters of law and governance. Born in 1962 to Din Mohammad, Sharayi received his early education in his hometown of Ayub Khel, attending Lakan High School before pursuing religious studies. He enrolled at the Faizanul Uloom madrassa in 1978 and later moved to Pakistan with his family following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. He continued his studies in Pakistan at the Kahi madrassa in Hangu and the Darul Uloom Arabic Rustom in Mardan, eventually graduating from the renowned Darul Uloom Haqqania in Akora Khattak in 1990.

Following his education, Sharayi began his career teaching at various madrassas — including Kahi madrassa (Hangu) and Rahmat Shah Banda in Tal — before assuming senior roles within the Mujahideen government during the 1990s and later with the Taliban regime. In the early 1990s, his close association with the late Mawlawi Jalaluddin Haqqani led to his appointment as provincial Chief of Police in Khost province during the Mujahideen government led by Burhanuddin Rabbani. Subsequently, during the first Taliban regime, he served as the Governor of Zabul province and as Deputy Minister of Justice in charge of finance and administration. Concurrently, he taught religious studies at the Central Military Corps in Kabul. During the Taliban insurgency, Sharayi played a significant role in fundraising efforts, notably serving on a four-member committee appointed by the Taliban’s emir tasked with collecting financial support in Saudi Arabia. During his six-year tenure, the committee reportedly raised nearly $5.3 million (or 20 million Saudi Arabian Riyal), which he transferred to the Taliban’s chief of finance, Agha Jan Motasim. Sharayi was subsequently arrested by the Saudi authorities and was sentenced to nine years in prison. Upon his release, he became a member of the Taliban’s leadership council and oversaw the group’s education portfolio in eastern Afghanistan.

In his current capacity, Sharayi's close relationship with the Taliban's leader, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, underscores his influential position within the Taliban's government, where he plays a central role in enforcing Sharia law. In the fall of 2023, Sharayi's ministry took a significant step by abolishing all Afghan political parties, stating, "There was no Sharia basis for political parties to operate in the country," effectively banning the activities of all Afghan political parties in Afghanistan. In addition to fluency in Pashto and Dari, he speaks Urdu and Arabic.