Commander of the Faithful

On May 25, the Afghan Taliban * chose a new leader - a Pashtun theologian

The new leader of the Taliban * maulavi (high-ranking theological title. - NT ) Haibatullah Akhundzada today is probably the most unfortunate person in Afghanistan. And his misfortune is not only that, as another "commander of the faithful", he has been a potential target for American drones for several days now. Exaggerated claims and expectations from enemies and friends, with whom no enemies are needed, make the life of Maulavi Haibatullah a real torment.

It cannot be said that the highest position in the Taliban * fell on Akhundzada, just like a drone from the sky. In December 2015, when the then leader of the Taliban * Mullah Akhtar Mansour was suffering from a gunshot wound resulting from a meaningful discussion with colleagues in the shura-e-quetta (the Taliban's highest governing body * ) , it was Maulavi Haibatullah who was entrusted with acting as Mansour . The representative of the Kandahar Pashtun Nurzai tribe, Akhundzada, by that time had long served as head of the Sharia court of the Taliban * , coordinating the activities of underground militant tribunals throughout Afghanistan. Before that, back in the 1980s of the last century, Haibatulla managed to fight against the Soviet troops in the ranks of the Mujahideen. So the new leader of the Taliban* can not only skillfully interpret the Koran, but also shoot from a Kalashnikov.

However, the main political virtue of Akhundzada lies elsewhere. According to available information, he does not have a large Taliban militant group of his own * and is therefore incapable of claiming to establish a regime of personal power, as his recently departed predecessor tried to do. According to Kabul experts, Maulavi Haibatullah is likely to play the role of an organizer of dialogues and compromises, using his authority to coordinate the interests of competing militant groups. There is no doubt that this is a difficult and life-threatening task. The late Mullah Mansour never managed to overcome the split in the Taliban * that arose in the summer of 2015, and now this becomes the main task for his successor.

No less burdensome for Maulavi Akhundzada will be his expectations of steps towards peace with official Kabul. Unambiguous allusions to this score have already been made by the United States, and the new leader of the Taliban simply has no right not to listen to them. After all, his life is at stake. Mullah Mansour refused to continue negotiations for peace, announced another spring offensive of the Taliban * , organized attacks on the Western military - and after that he lived only a few weeks ...

According to Kabul experts, Maulavi Haibatullah is likely to play the role of an organizer of dialogues and compromises, using his authority to coordinate the interests of competing militant groups. There is no doubt that this is a difficult and life-threatening task.

At the same time, Akhundzada cannot refuse the role of a "hawk" either. According to the laws of the jihadist genre, he is simply obliged to show his readiness to continue the work of his predecessor and, to begin with, avenge him convincingly cruelly (apparently, one should expect a major terrorist attack somewhere in the government quarter of Kabul). Otherwise, the shura comrades-in-arms will simply clear out Maulavi Haibatulla before the American drones.

According to Kabul experts, rivalry between the Taliban and supporters of the "Islamic State" * should also be expected to intensify in the coming months . For Maulavi Haibatullah, this will be another test - his religious authority can play not only the role of a mediator in the Taliban * , but also a mobilizing role in the fight against the subjects of the "caliph" Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

How successfully the new leader of the Taliban * manages to solve these incredibly complex tasks depends not only on his personal fate, but also on the development of the situation in Afghanistan, and the region as a whole.

* "Islamic State" (ISIS, ISIS), "Taliban" - organizations banned in the Russian Federation.