On August 15th, the Taliban entered Afghanistan and took control over the presidential palace in Kabul. As the Afghanistan government collapsed, President Ashraf Ghani has reportedly stepped down from the post and has reportedly left the country. 

As per some reports, Taliban commander Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar may become the new president of Afghanistan.

Born in 1968 and raised in Kandahar, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar is one of the founding members of the Taliban movement in Afghanistan that was formed in 1994. He is a Durrani Pashtun of the Popalzai Tribe.

Although Haibatullah Akhundzada is the main head, Baradar is the political chief of the Taliban.

Being one of the most important Taliban leaders, he was responsible for commanding their daily operations and he also used to retrieve funds from the world. As the Taliban collapsed in 2001, he was their deputy minister of defence.

He fought a number of wars along with Afghan Mujahid commander Mullah Omar. According to a report, they were both brothers-in-law.

During the 80s, he served in the Afghan Mujahideen group and fought in the Soviet-Afghan War.

In 2010, he was arrested in Karachi, Pakistan by Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and was kept in custody. However, he was freed at the request of The United States in 2018 under the leadership of Donald Trump and was relocated to Qatar, where he was appointed head of the Taliban’s political office.

As per some reports, he is likely to be Afghanistan’s next president, following the overthrow of Ashraf Ghani’s government.

The world watches as Afghanistan falls to its knees.