Muhammad Rasul

Mullah
Muhammad Rasul

Mullah Muhammad Rasul speaks during a gathering in Farah province, Afghanistan November 3, 2015.
Governor of Nimruz Province for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
In office
1996–2001
Succeeded by Abdul Karim Brahui
Personal details
Born 1965
Kandahar Province, Kingdom of Afghanistan
Religion Islam
Military service
Allegiance
Years of service 1994–present
Rank Supreme leader

Mullah Muhammad Rasul is the leader of a Taliban group in Afghanistan.[1] He was a Taliban-appointed governor of Nimruz Province, Afghanistan. Rasul exerted economic pressures on ethnic and religious minorities unpopular with the Taliban, and made a considerable fortune controlling cross-border drug-smuggling through Nimruz.[2]

Early life

Rasul is believed to have been born in the mid 1960s in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan.[3]

Taliban rule and Invasion of Afghanistan

Rasul was the Governor for Nimruz Province while the Taliban were in power during the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. He is said to have enjoyed close relations with former Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, and is considered to have been an "old and trusted friend" to him.[4]

Rasul and his functionaries fled Nimroz following U.S. airstrikes on 13 November 2001, and his office was taken over by Abdul Karim Brahui.[5] After the Invasion of Afghanistan, Rasul became the Taliban's shadow governor of Farah Province.[4] He was also a member of the secretive Quetta Shura[6]

Afghan Civil War

In 2015, Rasul broke away from the main Taliban leadership and established his own group, the High Council of Afghanistan Islamic Emirate. The split was a result of a disagreement over the ascension of Mullah Akhtar Mansour as leader of the Taliban. Rasul's followers accuse Mansour of hijacking the movement due to personal greed. Rasul says that he and his supporters tried to persuade him to step down and let the new leader be chosen by the Taliban council, but Mansour refused.[7][8]

The High Council is suspected to be a client of Iran.[1] They have demanded that foreign troops leave Afghanistan as a precursor for peace talks.[9] Rasul's Taliban group has voiced support for the actions of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State abroad however, he has stated that neither group is welcome in Afghanistan.[10]

Preceded by
Sher Malang		 Governor of Nimruz Province
?–2001 		Succeeded by
Abdul Karim Brahui

References

  1. 1 2 "Five Myths to Dispel About An Afghan Peace". gandhara.rferl.org. January 28, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  2. ↑ The Taliban and the crisis of Afghanistan. Harvard University Press, 2008. ISBN 0-674-02690-X, 9780674026902. Pg 185-187
  3. ↑ "Afghan Taliban faction appoints new 'supreme leader'". Al-Jazeera. 5 November 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Taliban Splinter Group Names Mullah Mohammad Rasool Akhund as Leader". NBC. 2 November 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  5. ↑ The Taliban and the crisis of Afghanistan. Harvard University Press, 2008. ISBN 0-674-02690-X, 9780674026902. Pg 185-187
  6. ↑ "The Afghan Taliban's top leaders". The Long War Journal. 23 February 2010. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  7. ↑ "Afghan Taliban splinter group names Mullah Rasool as leader". BBC. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  8. ↑ "Breakaway Taliban Says Senior Militant Wounded but Alive". Voice of America. 14 November 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  9. ↑ Raghavan, Sudarsan (2015-11-08). "A new Taliban breakaway group claims support for peace and women's rights". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2015-11-19. Niazi echoed the Taliban's core leadership when it came to peace talks: No discussions should occur unless all U.S. and foreign troops depart the country.
  10. ↑ "Afghan Taliban Splinter Group's New Chief Backs Islamic State 'Brothers' -- But Only Abroad". RFE/RL. Radio Free Afghanistan. 2015-11-08. Retrieved 2015-11-19. 'They are our brothers; [but] we will not let them in [Afghanistan] nor will we agree with them in this country.'
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