Mawlawi Abdul Kabir appointed as acting prime minister of Afghanistan

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has confirmed that Mawlawi Abdul Kabir has been appointed as acting prime minister in the absence of Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund who has taken ill.

Mohammad Hasan Haqyar, chief of protocol and media of the political deputy prime minister, told Ariana News late Tuesday night that Akhund has not been in the public eye for the past few months due to ill health. Kabir, his political deputy, has been mostly standing in for Akhund and meeting with foreign dignitaries.

The IEA has not revealed details on Akhund’s illness but sources have said in the past that he was suffering from heart disease.

Mawlawi Abdul Kabir is from Paktika province and is believed to be from the Zadran tribe. He was previously the governor of Nangarhar during the former IEA regime in the 1990s.

Reports have also indicated in the past that following the ousting of the IEA in 2001, Kabir was appointed as head of the Peshawar Council.

He also played an important role in the IEA’s negotiations with the US in Qatar.

Following the IEA’s takeover in August 2021, he was initially appointed as assistant to the economic deputy of Akhund and later as the political deputy of the IEA’s prime minister.

The IEA’s spokesman has confirmed that the Prime Minister of the Islamic Emirate, Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, is in Kandahar for a short time for treatment and rest.

“So that the work does not face obstacles and delays, the political deputy of the prime minister, Honorable Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, is carrying out the work as a care-taker,” Zabiullah Mujahid tweeted.

According to Mujahid this process is a normal procedure in governance, and added that “no one is trying to raise concerns and propaganda about it, nor do the citizens have any concerns.”