Muhammad Yaqoob Mujahid Tumzi (born 1990), commonly known as Mullah Yaqoob, is an Afghan military leader and cleric who is serving as the second deputy leader of Afghanistan and the acting

defense minister A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

in the internationally unrecognized Taliban regime since 2021. He has been a deputy leader of the

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

since 2016, and was additionally appointed to his ministerial role after the Taliban's victory over Western-backed forces in the 2001–2021 war. He has been the Taliban's military chief since 2020.

Biography

Mullah Yaqoob is an ethnic Pashtun of the Tumzi clan of the Hotak tribe, which is part of the larger

Ghilji The Ghiljī (, ; ) also spelled Khilji, Khalji, or Ghilzai and Ghilzay (), are one of the largest Pashtuns, Pashtun tribes. Their traditional homeland is Ghazni and Qalati Ghilji in Afghanistan but they have also settled in other regions throu ...

branch. He is the eldest son of the late Taliban founder Mullah Omar. He received his religious education in various seminaries in

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. When his father died in April 2013 and rumors escalated that he had been assassinated by rival Akhtar Mansour, Yaqoob denied the rumor, insisting that his father had died of natural causes.

Leadership positions

In 2016, Yaqoob was assigned by the Taliban to be in charge of the military commission in 15 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces. The military commission, then headed by Ibrahim Sadr, is responsible for overseeing all military affairs of the Taliban. In addition, Yaqoob was included in the Taliban's top decision-making council, the Rehbari Shura. Mansour's death was announced on 21 May 2016 and he was replaced by Hibatullah Akhundzada as the Taliban leader.

Sirajuddin Haqqani Sirajuddin Haqqani (, ; aliases '' Khalifa'' and Siraj Haqqani; born December 1979) is an Afghan leader who is the first deputy leader of Afghanistan and the acting interior minister in the post-2021 Taliban regime. He has been a deputy lead ...

, a deputy to Mansour and leader of the

Haqqani network The Haqqani network is an Afghan Islamist group, built around the family of the same name, that has used asymmetric warfare in Afghanistan to fight against Soviet forces in the 1980s, and US-led NATO forces and the Islamic Republic of Afghanis ...

, retained his position as Taliban deputy leader to Akhundzada, and Yaqoob was appointed the second deputy to the Taliban chief.

COVID-19 pandemic

On 7 May 2020, he was appointed head of the Taliban military commission, replacing Sadr and making Yaqoob the insurgents' military chief. On 29 May 2020, influential senior Taliban commander Mualana Muhammad Ali Jan Ahmed told ''

Foreign Policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

'' that Yaqoob became the acting leader to the entire Taliban after Akhundzada and First Deputy Leader

became ill with

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

during the COVID-19 pandemic in Afghanistan, stating "Our hero, the son of our great leader, Mullah Yaqoob, is running the entire Taliban operation in Haibatullah's absence."

Provisional Taliban government

Yaqoob is the acting defense minister of Afghanistan in the Caretaker Cabinet of the Islamic Emirate, appointed on 7 September 2021. In December 2022, Yaqoob met with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

. They discussed strengthening of relations between the UAE and Afghanistan. On 4 March 2024, Yaqoob attended the DIMIDEX (Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference) 2024 exhibition in

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

, where various international companies displayed land, air and naval military equipment and vehicles such as the LY-70 air defense missile system, ZTD-05 assault vehicle, HJ-12 anti-tank missile and more to the

Views

Mohammed Yaqoob supported a negotiated settlement to the

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...

. An avid supporter of former leader of the Taliban Akhtar Mansour, Yaqoob is pro-Saudi, has a reputation as a peace-advocating moderate, and is believed to have ties with the former government of Afghanistan. He also believes that the enforcement of Sharia should co-exist with basic international norms.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yaqoob, Mohammad 1990 births Living people Pashtun people Taliban leaders Children of heads of state Defence ministers of Afghanistan Afghan warlords Afghan expatriates in Pakistan