MEI - Taliban

Mawlawi Shahabuddin Delawar was appointed President of the Afghanistan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) in early July 2024. Prior to assuming this position, he served as the Taliban's Minister of Mines and Petroleum from November 2021 to July 2024. A prominent figure within the Taliban’s political commission, Delawar previously served as a member of the Taliban's Political Office and its negotiating team in Doha, Qatar, actively participating in talks with the United States until 2021. During the 1990s, he served as the deputy head of the Taliban's Embassy in Saudi Arabia under the Taliban regime. In September 1998, the Saudi government reportedly asked him to leave Saudi Arabia because of an unresolved difference of opinion over Osama bin Laden, likely stemming from Delawar's support of the Taliban's continued sanctuary to bin Laden. Additionally, he held the position of Deputy of the High Court under the Taliban regime.

Delawar's family has a history of political involvement, with his father, Said Akbar, serving in the parliament under former King Mohammad Zahir Shah and later under President Mohammad Daud Khan in the 1970s. All five of Delawar's sons—Mawlawi Roohullah Shahab, Mawlawi Maghfoorullah Shahab, Sebghatullah, Qari Safiullah, and Hafiz Mohammad—are educated in both religious and contemporary subjects. Born in 1957, Delawar maintains close ties with Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar. He is on the UN Security Council’s sanctions list under the designation TAi.113.