Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada went on to become the group’s “chief justice” after a US-led invasion toppled the Taliban government in 2001. Akhundzada went on to become the group’s “chief justice” after a US-led invasion toppled the Taliban government in 2001. Several senior Taliban sources have said Mansour bequeathed Akhunzada the leadership in his will, though some observers have argued in the past that hereditary succession is against the Taliban’s ideology. According to Rahimullah Yousafzai, considered the region’s foremost expert on the Taliban, Akhundzada was in Pakistan during the 1979-89 Soviet occupation of Afghanistan – unlike Omar and Mansour, who earned reputations as fighters as part of the US-backed mujahideen. Akhundzada is not known for his prowess on the battlefield, having preferred a life of religious and legal study.

Source: Indian Express May 25, 2016 08:42 UTC