- Baradar co-founded the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in 1996 with late Taliban leader, Mullah Omar
- They ruled until 2001 when a US-led invasion pushed them out of the country
- Taliban Spokesperson in first news conference in Kabul, says militants will not take revenge ‘or hold grudges’ against anyone
The Taliban’s leader and co-founder, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, arrived in Kandahar Tuesday after 20 years of exile, landing in the insurgent group’s former capital just days after they took control of the country.
A Taliban spokesman said on Twitter that Baradar and a high level delegation ‘reached their beloved country in the afternoon’ from Qatar.
The Taliban’s former leader, late Mullah Mohammed Omar, founded the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in 1996 with Baradar. Omar’s death was announced in 2015 – two years after he succumbed to TB.
Mullah Omar bestowed the title ‘brother’ upon Baradar as a sign of affection.
Baradah’s arrival came as the Taliban held a press conference in which the group said they ‘want to live peacefully’ after taking control of Afghanistan.
‘I would like to assure the international community that nobody will be harmed,’ Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said during the press conference.
‘We do not want to have any problems with the international community,’ he added, before defending the Taliban’s right to ‘act according to our religious principles.’
‘Other countries have different approaches, rules and regulations… the Afghans have the right to have their own rules and regulations in accordance with our values.’
Amid fears that women in Afghanistan will be the ones to suffer most under the Taliban’s rule after they were denied work, education among many other freedoms during the group’s reign from 1996 to 2001, Mujahid tried to ease concerns.
‘[We] are committed to the rights of women under the system of sharia,’ Mujahid says. ‘They are going to be working shoulder to shoulder with us. We would like to assure the international community that there will be no discrimination.’
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s co-founder and deputy leader, has arrived back in the country from Qatar, a spokesman has said (file image)
Baradar, reported to have been one of Mullah Omar’s most trusted commanders, was captured in 2010 by security forces in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi and released in 2018.
Just nine months ago, Baradar posed for pictures with Donald Trump’s Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to sign a peace deal in Doha which today lies in tatters.
On Sunday, his forces seized Kabul and he is now tipped to become Afghanistan’s next leader in a reversal of fortune which humiliates Washington.
While Haibatullah Akhundzada is the Taliban’s overall leader, Baradar is head of its political office and one of the most recognisable faces of the chiefs who have been involved in peace talks in Qatar.
The 53-year-old was deputy leader under ex-chief Mullah Mohammed Omar, whose support for Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden led to the US-led invasion of Afghanistan after 9/11.