MEI - Taliban

Mawlawi Noor Jalal Jalali, born in 1973, was appointed as the Minister of Public Health in late May 2024. Prior to assuming this position, he served as the Deputy Minister for Administrative Affairs at the Ministry of Interior since the fall of 2021. In that role, he oversaw the expansive administrative portfolio of the Ministry of Interior, which included oversight of the national police force and specialized police units. Noor Jalal Jalali's extensive experience with the Taliban dates back to the 1990s when he served as the deputy minister of interior affairs under the first Taliban regime. During a press conference in August 2022, he announced the interior ministry's plan to bolster the Taliban’s newly established police force to around 200,000 personnel. He emphasized how the structure and recruitment process for this force is meticulously managed through a dedicated working commission. Notably, he highlighted the recruitment of over 42,000 Taliban fighters, as well as over 2,700 personnel from the previous Afghan government, into the Taliban police force. Additionally, he mentioned the deployment of border forces in eight of Afghanistan’s airports and 18 border crossings across the country.

A noteworthy familial connection adds another layer to Noor Jalal's profile; he is the cousin of Mawlawi Najibullah Haqqani, the current Minister of Communications and Information Technology. Despite being sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council on February 23, 2001, Noor Jalal Jalali was later removed from the list on March 19, 2012. According to public reports, he has also held a Pakistani passport, which he has used for travel to Gulf countries, including the United Arab Emirates.