Taliban Reshuffles Officials, With Major Focus on Badakhshan
DID Press: Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has ordered a series of new appointments and transfers involving provincial governors and security and administrative officials, with several of the changes focused on Afghanistan’s northeastern Badakhshan province.
Under the decree, Mullah Rahmatullah Najib, former administrative deputy at the Ministry of Interior Affairs, was appointed governor of Badakhshan. Mullah Ahmad Shah Dindost, former governor of Sar-e-Pul province, was named police chief of Badakhshan.
Mullah Abdul Jabbar Muawin, former deputy head of road maintenance at the Ministry of Public Works, was appointed administrative deputy at the Ministry of Interior Affairs. Mawlawi Mohammad Ismail Ghaznawi, former governor of Badakhshan, was appointed deputy head of road maintenance at the Ministry of Public Works.
Mullah Bakhtiar Muaz, former governor of Laghman province, was appointed governor of Sar-e-Pul, while Mawlawi Abdul Basir Mazhari, former police chief of Badakhshan, was appointed head of the Public Works Department in Kandahar.
The concentration of appointments in Badakhshan highlights the province’s strategic importance in the Taliban’s security and political calculations. The simultaneous replacement of the governor and police chief, alongside the reassignment of former officials to other positions, could indicate an effort by the Taliban leadership to strengthen administrative and security coordination in the province and address internal divisions.
The reshuffle also comes amid recent clashes between Taliban forces and Jumakhon Fateh, a dissident Taliban commander, as well as increased activity by resistance fronts in northeastern Afghanistan.
Badakhshan has witnessed deadly fighting in recent months between the Taliban and armed opponents. The appointment of new figures to key administrative and security positions could therefore form part of the Taliban’s broader strategy to contain instability and consolidate control in the province.