Quiet Taliban Deal Maker Holds Key Role for Afghan Future
- Baradar named as deputy leader of new Taliban-led government
- Trump administration pressed Pakistan to free him from jail
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He co-founded the Taliban, helped it rebuild during two decades of war with the U.S. and then brokered a deal to get American troops out. Now, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar’s job is about to get even harder.
Baradar, named as deputy prime minister in a Taliban government unveiled on Tuesday, is still the most well-known figure to the outside world in the new administration. Taliban supreme commander Haibatullah Akhundzada hasn’t been seen in public since becoming the group’s leader in 2016, and little is known about new Prime Minister Mullah Mohammad Hassan.