Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid.

Taliban has once again made large-scale government and military reshuffles in Afghanistan. A total of 25 officers have been replaced on the orders of Taliban’s supreme leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada. These include the Governor, Army Commander, Corps Commander and officials associated with the local administration. These changes have been made especially in the Home Ministry and Defense Ministry.

Taliban Spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said on Thursday that on the orders of Haibatullah Akhundzada, new appointments have been made in many provinces. Qari Gul Haider Shafaq has been made the new governor of Bamiyan province. At the same time, the old governor of Bamiyan, Abdullah Sarhadi, has now been appointed the governor of Jawzjan province. Apart from this, the Governor of Sar-e-Pul province has also been removed.

Ahmed Shah was made the governor

Ahmed Shah Dindost has been given the responsibility as the new governor of Sar-e-Pul. He has previously been the commander of the 205th Al-Badr Corps. Meanwhile, Anzar Gul Abdullah, former Chief of Staff of the 201st Khalid Bin Walid Corps, has been made the Deputy Governor of Laghman Province. The Taliban leader has also made three important appointments in Kandahar. These include a district governor, a commissioner and a military commander. Along with this, 15 major changes have been made in the Defense Ministry.

Under these decisions, the former governor of Sar-e-Pul has now been made the new commander of the 205th Al-Badr Corps. At the same time, the former deputy commander of the special brigade of Panjshir province has been appointed the deputy commander of this corps. Apart from this, many other changes have also been made in the structure of the military corps.

A special thing in these appointments is that two civilian officers have been posted on military posts. The former deputy minister of rural development in Helmand has been made the chief of staff of the 217th Omari Corps. Meanwhile, the former head of Housing and Urban Development has been appointed commander of the 2nd Infantry Brigade of the 205th Al-Badr Corps.

Appointments based on loyalty and war experience

Experts say that it is clear from these changes that the Taliban has not given much importance to military expertise and professional experience. Appointments have been made mostly on the basis of religious affiliation, loyalty to Mullah Haibatullah and war experience.

These reshuffles also make it clear that the real power in the Taliban rule lies directly in the hands of the group’s leader. The role of ministers sitting in Kabul is becoming limited. Earlier there was news that Sirajuddin Haqqani had suggested forming a separate commission for security appointments, but the current decisions show that the final decision is still taken by Haibatullah Akhundzada.