Overview

Abdul Kabir Mohammad Jan is the deputy prime minister for political affairs of the Taliban government. On May 17, 2023, acting prime minister of the Taliban government, Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, temporarily stepped down from office due to illness. His duties as acting prime minister were transferred to Kabir.Ayaz Gul, “UN-Blacklisted Taliban Leader Becomes Acting Afghan Prime Minister,” Voice of America, May 17, 2023, https://www.voanews.com/a/un-blacklisted-taliban-leader-becomes-acting-afghan-prime-minister-/7097476.html.

Kabir reportedly hails from the Zadran tribe and owns land in central Baghlan Province.“Consolidated United Nations Security Council Sanctions List,” United Nations Security Council, May 14, 2023, https://www.un.org/french/sc/committees/consolidated.htm. In 1996, Kabir was appointed governor of Nangarhar province, an area that remained a stronghold for the Taliban for decades even after U.S. occupation in 2001.“Who’s Maulvi Abdul Kabir, Afghanistan’s new Taliban-appointed PM?,” Al Jazeera, May 18, 2023, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/18/whos-maulvi-abdul-kabir-afghanistans-new-taliban-appointed-pm.

During his tenure with the Taliban, Kabir plotted deadly bombings and facilitated drug trafficking. In 2001, Kabir served as the acting prime minister for the Taliban government right before the collapse of the group’s first reign.“Consolidated United Nations Security Council Sanctions List,” United Nations Security Council, May 14, 2023, https://www.un.org/french/sc/committees/consolidated.htm. Given Kabir’s status within the Taliban, the United Nations Security Council sanctioned Kabir on January 25, 2001.“Consolidated United Nations Security Council Sanctions List,” United Nations Security Council, May 14, 2023, https://www.un.org/french/sc/committees/consolidated.htm; Ayaz Gul, “UN-Blacklisted Taliban Leader Becomes Acting Afghan Prime Minister,” Voice of America, May 17, 2023, https://www.voanews.com/a/un-blacklisted-taliban-leader-becomes-acting-afghan-prime-minister-/7097476.html. Kabir reportedly fulfilled multiple roles within the first Taliban regime as the U.N. sanctioned Kabir for his concurrent positions of second deputy of economic affairs, member of the council of ministers, governor of the Nangarhar Province, and head of eastern zone of the Taliban regime.“ABDUL KABIR MOHAMMAD JAN,” United Nations Security Council, January 25, 2001, https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/sanctions/1988/materials/summaries/individual/abdul-kabir-mohammad-jan.

Following the collapse of the first Taliban regime in 2001, Mullah Mohammed Omar, the Taliban’s founder, appointed Kabir to the group’s leadership council in October 2006.“Who’s Maulvi Abdul Kabir, Afghanistan’s new Taliban-appointed PM?,” Al Jazeera, May 18, 2023, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/18/whos-maulvi-abdul-kabir-afghanistans-new-taliban-appointed-pm. Kabir was then appointed as the military commander of the eastern zone in October 2007, a position in which he facilitated multiple deadly attacks. One of the deadliest attacks orchestrated by Kabir occurred on November 6, 2007, when a suicide bomber blew himself up during a meet and greet between Afghan parliamentarians and Afghan schoolboys in Baghlan province. The explosion killed 72 and injured 96 others.“Consolidated United Nations Security Council Sanctions List,” United Nations Security Council, May 14, 2023, https://www.un.org/french/sc/committees/consolidated.htm; Hamid Shalizi, “Negligence led to deaths in big Afghan bomb-inquiry,” Reuters, November 27, 2007, https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSISL242221. Sometime before 2009, Kabir was then appointed as a member of the Taliban supreme council.“ABDUL KABIR MOHAMMAD JAN,” United Nations Security Council, January 25, 2001, https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/sanctions/1988/materials/summaries/individual/abdul-kabir-mohammad-jan.

Despite his violent past, Kabir served as a delegate for the Taliban during the Doha peace negotiations between the U.S. and the Taliban in 2020.Ayaz Gul, “UN-Blacklisted Taliban Leader Becomes Acting Afghan Prime Minister,” Voice of America, May 17, 2023, https://www.voanews.com/a/un-blacklisted-taliban-leader-becomes-acting-afghan-prime-minister-/7097476.html. On August 6, 2021, the Taliban began an offensive against major Afghan cities with the seizure of Zaranj, capital of Nimruz province.Susannah George and Ezzatullah Mehrdad, “Taliban fighters overrun an Afghan provincial capital for the first time since withdrawal of foreign forces,” Washington Post, August 6, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/08/06/afghanistan-taliban-nimruz/. By August 15, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled Afghanistan and thousands of Afghans poured into Kabul’s airport as Taliban fighters entered the city. By August 16, the Taliban laid siege to the presidential palace and took complete control of Kabul, after which the Taliban declared the war in Afghanistan had ended.“Taliban declares ‘war is over’ as president and diplomats flee Kabul,” Reuters, August 15, 2021, https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/talibans-rapid-advance-across-afghanistan-2021-08-10/. The Taliban has claimed that it would take on a more “moderate” approach in their ruling of the country, and that women are allowed to have roles in public life in observance of “Islamic law.”“Factbox: Taliban seek to present a moderate face as they take control in Afghanistan,” Reuters, August 15, 2021, https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taliban-seek-present-moderate-face-they-take-control-afghanistan-2021-08-15/.

Shortly after the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul, on October 5, 2021, the Taliban government appointed Kabir as the deputy prime minister for political affairs. The government is exclusively male, with many positions filled with veterans from their hardline movement in the early nineties.Matthieu Aikins and Jim Huylebroek, “Taliban Appoint Stalwarts to Top Government Posts,” New York Times, September 7, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/07/world/asia/taliban-women-protest-kabul-afghanistan.html; Kathy Gannon, “Taliban form all-male Afghan government of old guard members,” Associated Press, September 8, 2021, https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-pakistan-afghanistan-arrests-islamabad-d50b1b490d27d32eb20cc11b77c12c87.

On May 17, 2023, Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, announced that Kabir will temporarily fulfill the duties of prime minister of the Taliban government. Akhund is reportedly unwell and is undergoing treatment.Ayaz Gul, “UN-Blacklisted Taliban Leader Becomes Acting Afghan Prime Minister,” Voice of America, May 17, 2023, https://www.voanews.com/a/un-blacklisted-taliban-leader-becomes-acting-afghan-prime-minister-/7097476.html.