Mawlawi Zabihullah Mujahid currently serves as the chief spokesperson of the Taliban's government. Until August 21, 2022, he also held the position of Deputy Minister of Publications at the Ministry of Information and Culture before being relocated to Kandahar to assume the role of a chief spokesperson for the Taliban's emir, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada. Born in 1978, Zabihullah Mujahid's father worked as a tailor. He received his early education at Farooqia madrassa in Paktia province and went on to pursue advanced studies in Islamic fiqh (jurisprudence) at Dar-ul-uloom Haqqania madrassa in Pakistan. At the age of 16, he joined the Taliban and began contributing by writing and publishing for the Dari section of the Taliban's local magazine, Sarak. In 1996, he was captured in Pul-e-Khomri, Baghlan province, by forces led by the former anti-Taliban resistance commander, Ahmad Shah Masood, and spent six months in captivity. Following the events of 2001, he was captured by U.S. forces and detained at Bagram prison for over three years. With his true identity unknown, he was subsequently transferred to the Pul-e-Charkhi prison under the Afghan government's control, where he was tried under Afghan laws and released after 13 months in detention. Upon his release, he returned to the Taliban's ranks. As of 2017, he held a senior position in the Taliban’s Culture Commission and became the Taliban's spokesperson after the capture of the group's former spokesperson, Dr. Mohammad Hanif. Zabihullah Mujahid is reportedly a close associate of Mohammad Ibrahim Sadr, the current deputy interior minister. Despite his significant portfolio, he is not currently listed on the United Nations or other sanctions lists.
