Ibrahim Sadr (; born Khodaidad), sometimes written Ibrahim Sadar, is a senior

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

official serving as the acting deputy minister of interior affairs of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

since 21 September 2021. He previously served as the acting minister of interior affairs from 24 August 2021 to 7 September 2021.

Life and career

Born ''Khodaidad'', he changed his name to ''Ibrahim''. Sadr was part of the Afghan mujahideen who fought against the Soviet forces in the

Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Soviet ...

. After the war, he moved to

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

in Pakistan to teach in a

madrassa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

. Students there added ''Sadr'' (meaning 'president') to his name. During the first Taliban government, he was responsible for the Taliban's defence department managing Soviet aircraft. Holding stringent religious views, he developed close contacts with jihadist groups, including

Al Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military targets in various countr ...

. After the US invasion, he returned to Peshawar. He was close to the original Taliban leader Mohammed Omar and

Akhtar Mansour Akhtar Mohammad Mansour (1960s21 May 2016) was the second supreme leader of the Taliban, an Islamic fundamentalist political movement in Afghanistan. Succeeding the founding leader, Mullah Omar, he was the supreme leader from July 2015 to May ...

, who succeeded Omar, and Sadr rose in the Taliban hierarchy. Sadr was appointed the Taliban military chief commander in 2014. The Taliban did not announce his appointment publicly until August 2016. Sadr's close friend Mansour, the Taliban leader, was killed in a US drone strike in Pakistan in 2016 and Sadr blamed Pakistan. Sadr refused to base himself in Pakistan or to attend Taliban meetings there, upsetting other members. He insisted on remaining in Afghanistan or Iran. Sadr used wealth from opium and marble smuggling to build his own support network within the Taliban, and he was also supported by Iran. Unhappiness with his independence within the Taliban, his dislike of Pakistan and his closeness to Iran led to him being replaced as the military chief by

Mohammad Yaqoob Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid (Pashto/, , ; born 1990) is an Afghan Islamic scholar, cleric, and Islamist militant who is the second deputy leader of Afghanistan and the acting defense minister. He has been a deputy leader of the Taliban sinc ...

in 2020, with Sadr becoming a deputy.

References

{{Taliban Living people Taliban commanders Taliban leaders Year of birth missing (living people)