Mawlawi Zabihullah Mujahid, a nom de guerre, has served as the chief spokesperson of the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate since September 2021. 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 serve as chief spokesperson for Taliban emir, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada.
Born in 1978, Mujahid's father was a tailor. He received his early education at the Farooqia madrassa in Paktia province before pursuing advanced studies in Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) at Darul Uloom Haqqania madrassa in Pakistan. Mujahid reportedly joined the Taliban at age 16 and began contributing to the Dari-language section of the Taliban’s local magazine, Sarak.
In 1996, he was captured in Pul-e-Khomri, Baghlan province, by forces led by former anti-Taliban commander Ahmad Shah Masood and spent six months in captivity. Following the fall of the first Taliban regime in 2001, he was captured by U.S. forces and held at Bagram prison for over three years. Because his identity was allegedly not known at the time, he was later transferred to Pul-e-Charkhi prison under Afghan government control. He was subsequently tried under Afghan law and released after approximately 13 months, after which he rejoined the Taliban ranks. By 2017, Mujahid held a senior position in the Taliban’s Culture Commission and had become one of the movement’s principal spokespeople following the capture of former spokesperson Dr. Mohammad Hanif.
He is reportedly a close associate of Mohammad Ibrahim Sadr, the current deputy interior minister. Despite his prominent role within the Taliban leadership structure, Zabibullah Mujahid is not currently designated on United Nations or other major sanctions lists.
