The Leadership Council of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, also translated as the Supreme Council, () (also referred to as the Inner Shura) is the central governing body of the
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 ...
and
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 ...
. The Taliban uses a
consensus decision-making
Consensus decision-making or consensus process (often abbreviated to ''consensus'') are group decision-making processes in which participants develop and decide on proposals with the aim, or requirement, of acceptance by all. The focus on es ...
model among members of the Leadership Council, though the supreme leader, who
chairs
A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...
the council, has ultimate authority and may override or circumvent it at any time. It played a key role in directing the
Taliban insurgency
{{Infobox military conflict
, partof = the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the Afghanistan conflict
, image = 2021 Taliban Offensive.png
, image_size = 300px
, caption = Map of the 2021 Taliban o ...
from
Quetta
Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه) is the tenth List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in Geography of Pakistan, south-west of the country close to the ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
, which led to it being informally referred to as the Quetta Shura at the time.
Powers and duties
The council is the supreme governing body of the
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 ...
and the
Government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
The government of Afghanistan, officially called the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is the central government of Afghanistan, a unitary state. Under the leadership of the Taliban, the government is a theocracy and an emirate with political powe ...
. It functions under a
consensus decision-making
Consensus decision-making or consensus process (often abbreviated to ''consensus'') are group decision-making processes in which participants develop and decide on proposals with the aim, or requirement, of acceptance by all. The focus on es ...
model, and is chaired by the supreme leader. The Leadership Council appoints the supreme leader in the event of a vacancy. Under the first supreme leader,
Mullah Omar
Mullah Muhammad Omar (; –April 2013) was an Afghan Islamic revolutionary who founded the Taliban and served as the supreme leader of Afghanistan from Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001), 1996 to 2001.
Born into a religious family of ...
, the role of the council was purely advisory, but an agreement to rule by consensus was formed upon the contentious appointment of
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 ...
as the second supreme leader. However, the supreme leader may still override or circumvent the council at any time—the consensus model is merely a convention.
Current membership
There are approximately 30 members. The following bodies make up the Leadership Council:
* Border Commission
* Commission for Agriculture, Livestock, Ushr and Zakat
* Commission for Cultural Affairs
* Commission for Financial Affairs
* Commission for Preaching and Guidance, Recruitment and Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice
* Commission for Prevention of Civilian Casualties and Complaints
* Commission for Prisoners’ Affairs
* Commission for Training, Learning and Higher Education
* Commission of Military Affairs
* Department for the Affairs of Needy, Orphans and Disabled
* Department of Power Distribution
* Economic Commission
* Guidance and Invitation Commission
* Health Commission
* Institutional Commission
* Intelligence Commission
* Leadership Office
* Mining Commission
* Political Office (formerly Commission for Political Affairs)
Inner Shura (1996–2001)
According to U.S. intelligence, the "Inner Shura" of the First Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan was originally a collective leadership body, but gradually lost power as over the course of the Taliban's first year in government as
Mullah Omar
Mullah Muhammad Omar (; –April 2013) was an Afghan Islamic revolutionary who founded the Taliban and served as the supreme leader of Afghanistan from Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001), 1996 to 2001.
Born into a religious family of ...
developed a
cult of personality
A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader, Mudde, Cas and Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira (2017) ''Populism: A Very Short Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 63. is the result of an effort which is made to create an id ...
. It had 23 members. Mohammad Ghous was reportedly a member. It was based in
Kandahar
Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a List of cities in Afghanistan, city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population ...
. Also known as the Supreme Council, it was chaired by Omar.
Quetta Shura (2002–2021)
After the
United States invasion of Afghanistan
In late 2001, the United States and its close allies invaded Afghanistan and toppled the Taliban government. The invasion's aims were to dismantle al-Qaeda, which had executed the September 11 attacks, and to deny it a safe base of operatio ...
in 2001 and the end of the Taliban government, ten men who had held positions in the government formed a Council of Leaders (''Rabbari Shura'') in May 2002. They consisted of eight veteran high ranking (i.e. elite) commanders originally from the southern area of Afghanistan, another hailing from
Paktika
Paktika (Pashto/Dari: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the eastern part of the country. Forming part of the larger Loya Paktia region, Paktika has a population of about 789,000, mostly ethnic Pashtuns. The town of Sharana ...
, and another from
Paktia
Paktia (Pashto/Dari: – ''Paktyā'') is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the east of the country. Forming part of the larger Loya Paktia region, Paktia Province is divided into 15 districts and has a population of roughly 6 ...
. The Shura was subsequently increased in number, during March 2003, to 33 individuals. During October 2006, the Consultative Council (''majlis al-shura'') was formed, comprising a number of advisors to 13 core members.
Directing the insurgency in Afghanistan
According to retired General of the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
Stanley A. McChrystal
Stanley Allen McChrystal (born August 14, 1954) is a retired United States Army general best known for his command of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) from 2003 to 2008 where his organization was credited with the death of Abu Musab al-Zarq ...
, the Quetta Shura was directing the Afghani Taliban
insurgency
An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irregu ...
. In a report to President Obama in 2009, he stated that it posed the greatest threat to his troops. He said, "Afghanistan's insurgency is clearly supported from Pakistan. The Quetta Shura conducts a formal campaign review each winter, after which Omar announces his guidance and intent for the following year." Americans wanted to extend the
drone strikes
Drone warfare is a form of aerial warfare using unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV) or weaponized commercial unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). The United States, United Kingdom, Israel, China, South Korea, Iran, Italy, France, India, Pakis ...
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
, 2009-12-21
In September 2009 US ambassador to Pakistan
Anne W. Patterson
Anne Woods Patterson (born 1949) is an American diplomat and career Foreign Service Officer. She served as the Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs from 2013 to 2017. She previously served as United States Ambassador to Egypt unt ...
said, "In the past, we focussed on
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
because they were a threat to us. The Quetta Shura mattered less to us because we had no troops in the region, now our troops are there on the other side of the border, and the Quetta Shura is high on Washington’s list."
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
, 2009-02-09 According to Lt. Gen.
David Barno
David William Barno (born July 5, 1954) is a retired Lieutenant General (United States), lieutenant general of the United States Army. He was commander of Combined Forces Command-Afghanistan from 2003–2005.
Early life
Barno is a native of E ...
, the retired former commander of American forces in Afghanistan "The Quetta Shura is extremely important, they are the intellectual and ideological underpinnings of the Taliban insurgency."
Support from Pakistani intelligence
American officials believe that the Quetta Shura gets support from parts of Pakistan's
Inter-Services Intelligence
The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI; ur, , bayn khadamatiy mukhabarati) is the premier intelligence agency of Pakistan. It is responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing any information from around the world that is deemed relevant ...
(ISI), as some of its senior officials believe that leaders such as
Omar
ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate o ...
would be valuable assets if the Taliban were to regain power after a withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan.
According to Abdul Rahim Mandokhel, a Pakistani
senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
from
Zhob
Zhob (; ) or Zhobak (), formerly known as Appozai or Fort Sandeman, is a city and district capital of Zhob District in Balochistan province of Pakistan. Zhob is located on the banks of Zhob River 337 km from Quetta, the capital of Balochistan.
T ...
in northern Balochistan. "The whole war in Afghanistan is being launched from here," he said. He accused Pakistan's intelligence agencies of carrying out a "double" policy. "One thing is clear: the area is being used for cross-border offences," he said.
A report by the
London School of Economics
, mottoeng = To understand the causes of things
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £240.8 million (2021)
, budget = £391.1 millio ...
(LSE) claimed to provide the most concrete evidence yet that the ISI is providing funding, training and sanctuary to the
Taliban insurgency
{{Infobox military conflict
, partof = the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the Afghanistan conflict
, image = 2021 Taliban Offensive.png
, image_size = 300px
, caption = Map of the 2021 Taliban o ...
on a scale much larger than previously thought. The report's author Matt Waldman spoke to nine Taliban field commanders in Afghanistan and concluded that Pakistan's relationship with the insurgents ran far deeper than previously realised. Some of those interviewed suggested that the organization even attended meetings of the Taliban's supreme council, the Quetta Shura. A spokesman for the Pakistani military dismissed the report, describing it as "malicious".
Pakistani relationship
Statement
American and western officials have long complained that Pakistan has ignored the presence of senior Taliban leadership in Quetta and done little to address this situation. Pakistani authorities have denied the existence of such an organization in Pakistan. However, statements by US officials have led to fears that US would launch
drone strikes
Drone warfare is a form of aerial warfare using unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV) or weaponized commercial unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). The United States, United Kingdom, Israel, China, South Korea, Iran, Italy, France, India, Pakis ...
Dawn
Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's horizo ...
, 2009-10-12 Jehan Zeb Jamaldini, senior vice president of Balochistan National Party was quoted as saying that Omar and his 2nd and 3rd tier leadership were around Quetta and would be targeted by the US.Prime Minister of Pakistan
Imran Khan
Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...
rejected the allegations of having Quetta Shura in Pakistan. He said these are just baseless allegations by our enemies. He added that Pakistan is not spokesperson for Taliban. If anyone has queries ask the Taliban directly.
Acknowledgement
In December 2009 Pakistani government for the first time acknowledged the existence of Quetta Shura. The Defence minister of Pakistan,
Ahmad Mukhtar
Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar ( ur, احمد مختار) (22 June 1946 – 25 November 2020) was a Pakistani politician and businessman who served as the Defence Minister of Pakistan in the PM Yousaf Raza Gillani-led cabinet. He also owned Servis G ...
acknowledged the presence of Quetta Shura but stated that security forces had damaged it to such an extent that it no longer posed a threat.
On November 23, 2012, when Pakistan released nine senior Taliban leaders, commentator Ali K. Chrishti described a statement from the Pakistani government as its first acknowledgment of the existence of the Quetta Shura.
Arrests
In February 2010, in a possible change in Pakistani policy, several members of the Quetta Shura were detained at various locations in Pakistan.
Top
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 ...
leader
Abdul Ghani Baradar
Abdul Ghani Baradar, , (born 29 September 1963 or 1968; known by the honorific '' mullah'') is an Afghan political and religious leader who is currently the acting first deputy prime minister alongside Abdul Salam Hanafi and Abdul Kabir, of ...
, who ran the Shura, was captured in
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
in a joint operation by
Inter-Services Intelligence
The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI; ur, , bayn khadamatiy mukhabarati) is the premier intelligence agency of Pakistan. It is responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing any information from around the world that is deemed relevant ...
and
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
. He had reportedly gone to Karachi to meet other Shura leaders who had moved to this city in recent months. A few days later two more members of the Quetta Shura,
Abdul Kabir
Maulavi Mohammed Abdul Kabir is a senior member of the Taliban leadershipMohammed Yunis, the Taliban’s shadow governor of Zabul Province, were detained by Pakistani intelligence.
They will be handed over to Kabul if they have not committed crimes in Pakistan.
Analysts were split on the question of why Pakistan moved against these key leaders. Many said that Pakistan had decided it wanted to control any negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government.
"There has been a change in Pakistan's attitude," said Pakistani author Ahmed Rashid. "Pakistan now wants to dominate any kind of dialogue that takes place."
However, according to ''
The News International
''The News International'', published in broadsheet size, is one of the largest English language newspapers in Pakistan. It is published daily from Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi/Islamabad. An overseas edition is published from London that cater ...
'', the Pakistani establishment, in a major policy shift, had decided not to support the Shura and had arrested 9 of the 18 key members within a period of 2 weeks. The policy shift was made after pressure from the US as well as a request from the
Saudi Royal family
The House of Saud ( ar, آل سُعُود, ʾĀl Suʿūd ) is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. It is composed of the descendants of Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the Emirate of Diriyah, known as the First Saudi state (1727–1818), an ...
Coalition efforts at negotiations
In November 2009, it was reported that the British were pushing for talks between the Afghan government and the Shura. 'Major General
Richard Barrons
General Sir Richard Lawson Barrons, (born 17 May 1959) is a retired British Army officer. He was Commander Joint Forces Command from April 2013 until his retirement in April 2016.
Barrons' early career was spent in various staff and field po ...
said negotiations with the senior echelons of the Afghan Taliban leadership council – the Quetta shura – were being looked at, alongside the reintegration of insurgency fighters into civilian life. In his first interview since arriving in Afghanistan to begin talks with "moderate" Taliban fighters, Barrons said British officials were backing extensive talks between Karzai's government and the Quetta shura, which is led by Omar and is responsible for directing much of the fighting against British forces in Helmand province.'
Early January 2010, some commanders from the Quetta Shura held secret exploratory talks with
Kai Eide
Kai Aage Eide (born 28 February 1949 in Sarpsborg) is a Norwegian diplomat and writer. He was appointed the United Nations Special Representative to Afghanistan and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) on 7 March ...
to discuss peace terms, as emerged end of that month during the International Conference on Afghanistan in London. The Shura had sought a meeting with the United Nations envoy, which took place in
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
on January 8, 2010. This was the first such meeting between the UN and alleged senior members of the Taliban, suggesting that peace talks had revived since exploratory contacts between emissaries of the Kabul government and the Taliban in
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
in 2009 broke down. It was not clear how significant a faction had showed up in Dubai or how serious they were. A western official confirmed that there were ''indications of splits in the Taliban over the prospect of a settlement''. Supporters of former presidential candidate
Abdullah Abdullah
Abdullah Abdullah ( Dari/ ps, عبدالله عبدالله, ; born as Abdullah on 5 September 1960) is an Afghan politician who led the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR) from May 2020 until August 2021, when the Afghan government w ...
predicted that negotiations could fail because the Karzai government was ''too weak'', and other critics warned that trying to buy off insurgents created a ''"moral hazard"'' of rewarding combatants who had killed Western troops and local civilians. Taliban sources denied that there had been such a meeting and dismissed them as ''baseless rumors''.
Leaders
The Taliban's Quetta Shura is the main leadership among
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 ...
's
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 ...
.
According to ''
The News International
''The News International'', published in broadsheet size, is one of the largest English language newspapers in Pakistan. It is published daily from Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi/Islamabad. An overseas edition is published from London that cater ...
'', Pakistani security officials had previously regarded Afghanistan's Taliban, the Quetta Shura, and
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan
The Pakistani Taliban (), formally called the Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan (Urdu/ ps, , lit=Student Movement of Pakistan, TTP), is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani bo ...
as three separate entities. They reported that Pakistani security officials had changed their policy in early 2010, and had decided to treat all three organizations as one organization, and to crack down on the Quetta Shura. The reported nine of its eighteen leaders were captured in late February and early March 2010.
In August 2019, some Taliban leaders, including Hafiz Ahmadullah, the brother of Taliban emir Hibatullah Akhunzada, were killed in a bomb blast at the Khair Ul Madarais mosque, which had served as the main meeting place of the Taliban, on the outskirts of Quetta.
On 29 May 2020, it was reported that Omar's son Yaqoob was now acting as leader of the Taliban after numerous Quetta Shura members where infected with
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. It was previously confirmed on 7 May 2020 that Yaqoob had become head of the Taliban military commission, making him the insurgents' military chief.Ben Farmer (7 May 2020) "Taliban founder's son appointed military chief of insurgents" ''The Telegraph''. Retrieved 7 June 2020. Among those infected in the Quetta Shura, which continued to hold in-person meetings, were Hibatullah and Sirajuddin Haqqani.
Quetta Shura members
See also
*
War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
The War in Afghanistan was an armed conflict that began when an Participants in Operation Enduring Freedom, international military coalition led by the United States launched United States invasion of Afghanistan, an invasion of Afghanistan, ...
*
International Security Assistance Force
' ps, کمک او همکاري '
, allies = Afghanistan
, opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda
, commander1 =
, commander1_label = Commander
, commander2 =
, commander2_label =
, commander3 =
, comman ...
*
Haqqani network
The Haqqani network is an Afghan Islamist group, built around the family of the same name, that has used asymmetric warfare in Afghanistan to fight against Soviet forces in the 1980s, and US-led NATO forces and the Islamic Republic of Afghanist ...
*
Consultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia
The Consultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia ( ar, مجلس الشورى السعودي, Maǧlis aš-Šūrā s-Saʿūdiyy), also known as ''Majlis ash-Shura'' or ''Shura Council,'' is the formal advisory body of Saudi Arabia. It is a deliberative as ...
*
Islamic Consultative Assembly
The Islamic Consultative Assembly ( fa, مجلس شورای اسلامی, Majles-e Showrā-ye Eslāmī), also called the Iranian Parliament, the Iranian Majles (Arabicised spelling Majlis) or ICA, is the national legislative body of Iran. The P ...
of Iran
*
Consultative Assembly of Qatar
The Consultative Assembly ( ar, مجلس الشورى القطري, ''Majlis as-Shura''; also known as the Shura Council) is the legislative body of the State of Qatar, with 45 members. Following the 2021 Qatari general election, it has 30 electe ...
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 ...
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 ...