Due to the reported illness of Mullah Muhammad Hassan Akhund, the Taliban’s supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has named Maulvi Abdul Kabir as the interim prime minister of Afghanistan.
Khaama Press News Agency reported that Maulvi Abdul Kabir had been named Afghanistan’s interim prime minister.
Previously serving as the deputy prime minister for Political Affairs, Maulvi Kabir will now helm the Taliban government until Akhund’s health recovers. Since the Taliban regained power in 2021, Akhund has held the role of prime minister.
While the specifics of Akhund’s illness remain undisclosed by Taliban authorities, sources cited by the news outlet suggest he is battling heart disease.
Hailing from the eastern Paktika province and reportedly of the Zadran tribe, Maulvi Kabir had a previous stint as the governor of Nangarhar province during the Taliban’s rule from 1996-2001.
A key figure in the Taliban, Maulvi Kabir, has been instrumental in negotiations with the United States in Qatar, leading to the Doha Agreement between the two parties.
Upon the Taliban’s reestablishment of power in August 2021, Maulvi Kabir was first designated as the assistant to Akhund’s economic deputy before being promoted to the political deputy of the Taliban’s prime minister.
