Taliban governor appointed as their new communications minister

Taliban leader in a decree dismissed Hamdullah Nomani as minister of communications and replaced him with Abdul Ahad Fazli, the Taliban governor of Faryab province.

The decree by Hibatullah Akhundzada also includes the appointment of a deputy minister, four provincial governors, eight deputy governors, five police chiefs and a senior official in the Taliban prison administration.

Nomani had been appointed communications minister in mid-2025. He previously served as minister of urban development and housing and earlier as Kabul’s mayor under the Taliban. He also held the mayoral post during the Taliban’s first rule in late 1990s.

As part of the reshuffle, new governors were appointed in several provinces.

Mohammad Hanif Hamza, the former Taliban governor of Badghis province, was named governor of Faryab. Abdul Rahman Haqqani, previously governor of Baghlan province, was appointed governor of Khost province, while Abdullah Mukhtar, the former governor of Khost, was reassigned as Taliban governor of Baghlan. Mohammad Wali Jan, a former adviser to the Taliban’s economic deputy prime minister, was appointed governor of Badghis.

The decree also outlined changes among provincial police leadership.

Abdul Qayum Hilal, previously Taliban police chief in Maidan Wardak province, was appointed police chief of Baghlan, while his counterpart in Baghlan, Abdul Haq, was reassigned to Maidan Wardak. Mohammad Omar Mukhlis, a former official in the Taliban’s prison administration, was named police chief of Nimroz province, and Faridullah Qiam was appointed police chief of Logar province.

Eight Taliban deputy governors were also appointed across multiple provinces, including Logar, Paktia province, Maidan Wardak, Baghlan, Helmand province, Farah province and Paktika province.

In additional appointments, a new deputy minister was named at the Taliban Ministry of Hajj and Religious Affairs, while Agha Wali Hanafi, a former police chief in Logar, was appointed to a senior oversight role within the Taliban’s prison authority.

The reshuffle reflects a continued pattern of internal appointments within the Taliban administration since they returned to power in 2021, with officials frequently rotated between posts rather than replaced by new figures.

Analysts say the Taliban leadership structure remains largely composed of their own members, with no inclusion of women in senior government roles.