Mawlawi Hayatullah Mahajir Farahi has held the position of Deputy Governor of Herat province since early January 2024. Prior to assuming this role, he served as the Deputy Minister of Press and Publications at the Ministry of Information and Culture since August 2022. In this capacity, he played a pivotal role in shaping the cultural narrative and communication strategies of the Taliban's government. Before that appointment, he served as the mayor of Herat province. During the 1990s, Mawlawi Hayatullah oversaw the Department of Properties and Land at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the Taliban’s regime. After 2001, he played various roles in the Taliban’s insurgency, including district head of the military commission in Geresh district, Helmand province, provincial chief of intelligence and head of the military commission in Farah province, district governor of Anar Dara in the same province, and provincial head of the invitation and guidance commission. Additionally, he supervised customs collections on the Herat-Kandahar highway. Born in 1979 to Mohammad Zahid Akhundzada, Mawlawi Hayatullah received his formative education from his uncle, Mawlawi Mohammad Abid Akhundzada, before enrolling in Mazhar-ul-Uloom Madrassa in Kandahar city. Proficient in English, Arabic, and Urdu, he has authored several volumes of poetry.
