Muhammad Rasul

Mullah Muhammad Rasul is the leader of the High Council of Afghanistan Islamic Emirate, a Taliban splinter group in Afghanistan.[1] He was a Taliban-appointed governor of Nimruz Province, Afghanistan. Rasul exerted pressure and suppresion on Pashtun factions unpopular with the Taliban, and made a considerable fortune controlling cross-border drug-smuggling through Nimruz.[2]

Mullah

Muhammad Rasul
Mullah Muhammad Rasul speaks during a gathering in Farah province, Afghanistan November 3, 2015.
Supreme Leader of High Council of Afghanistan Islamic Emirate
Assumed office
2016
Preceded byOffice Established
Governor of Nimruz Province for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
In office
1996–2001
Succeeded byAbdul Karim Brahui
Personal details
Bornc. 1965 (age 54–55)
Kandahar Province, Kingdom of Afghanistan
ReligionIslam
Military service
Allegiance
Years of service1994–present
RankSupreme leader

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].

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.[6][7]

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.[8] Rasul's Taliban group has voiced that neither al-Qaeda, nor the Islamic State are welcome in Afghanistan.[9] The group has also been reported of being supported by Afghan government though both the group and Afghan officials have denied this.[10]

Involvement in failed assassination of Hibatullah Akhundzada

During the Friday prayer on August 16 2019, a powerful blast tore through a grand mosque in Pakistan’s Balochistan province. The attack on the mosque, frequented by Taliban’s leadership, only killed the brother and father of the Mullah Haibatullah.

The High Council of Afghanistan Islamic Emirate, claimed responsibility for the attack, adding that the prime target was Haibatullah.[11]

References
  1. "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. "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. "Afghan Taliban splinter group names Mullah Rasool as leader". BBC. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  7. "Breakaway Taliban Says Senior Militant Wounded but Alive". Voice of America. 14 November 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  8. 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.
  9. "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.'
  10. "Afghan Government Quietly Aids Breakaway Taliban Faction". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  11. "Taliban in troubled waters as splinter groups target leaders in Quetta". CNBC TV. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
Preceded by
Sher Malang		 Governor of Nimruz Province
?–2001		 Succeeded by
Abdul Karim Brahui
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