Who is Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban co-founder set to lead Afghanistan - in pics

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar was once a close friend of the Taliban's reclusive original leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, who gave him his nom de guerre "Baradar", or "brother". He served as deputy defence minister when the Taliban last ruled Afghanistan.

Born in Uruzgan province in 1968, he fought in the Afghan Mujahideen against the Soviets in the 1980s. In 1989, after the Russians withdrew, civil war broke out between warring parties in Afghanistan. It was then that Baradar set up a madrassa in Kandahar with Omar, his former commander and brother-in-law. The duo founded the Taliban. 

Following the fall of the Taliban government, Baradar served as a senior military commander responsible for attacks on coalition forces, a UN sanctions notice said. He was arrested and imprisoned in Pakistan in 2010. After his release in 2018, he headed the Taliban's political office in Doha, becoming one the most prominent figures in peace talks with the United States.

(Pic: Reuters)

The Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, while some experts said was inevitable, but almost everyone was taken by surprise at the speed in which it all happened. "It was never expected that we will have victory in Afghanistan. Now comes the test. We must meet the challenge of serving and securing our nation, and giving it a stable life going forward," Baradar said after the Taliban captured Kabul.

Haibatullah Akhunzada, the Taliban's supreme religious leader, will focus on religious matters and governance within the framework of Islam, a Taliban source said. Meanwhile, Baradar, who is the public face of the Taliban, will lead the country. Many analysts have said that Baradar's "moderate image"augurs well for him and he comes across as a political head, not a military leader.