Politics of Afghanistan
The politics of Afghanistan are based on a totalitarian emirate within the Islamic theocracy in which the Taliban Movement holds a monopoly on power.
Most recently, the Taliban seized power in 2021 from the Western-backed Islamic Republic, and re-formed the government to implement a far stricter interpretation of Sharia law according to the Hanafi school.
An ulema (scholars) council drafted a dastur (basic law), which was approved by the Supreme Court in 1998 and re-authorized for the insurgency in July 2005 in response to the promulgation of the 2004 Constitution of the Islamic Republic.
The dastur is vague; it named Mullah Omar Supreme Leader and places the highest authority in that position but does not outline a selection process or the constraints of the office.
[12][13][10] Following the Taliban's return to power, the group announced the enactment of parts of the 1964 monarchy constitution that are "not in conflict with Sharia" to govern the country in the interim.
[17] Hibatullah Akhundzada is the supreme leader of Afghanistan, having authority on all political, military, and religious decisions, and government appointments.
As supreme leader, much of his work is done alongside the Rahbari Shura (Leadership Council) which oversees the Cabinet and Prime Minister of Afghanistan.
[18] Currently, the supreme leader is also responsible for determining the overall aims of the Cabinet of Afghanistan, serving as a point of unity and leadership among the various factions of the Taliban.
Because of Hibatullah Akhundzada's credentials as Mawlawi and knowledge of Fiqh, he is broadly respected among the Taliban and thus seen as a unifying figure.
This setup is reminiscent of how the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan was governed from 1996 to 2001 with Mohammad Omar being Head of the Supreme Council.
According to an Al Jazeera report, the Council of Ministers is powerless in practice, with all political power actually being vested with Akhundzada and the Rahbari Shura,[21] which is based out of Kandahar.
The Prime Minister, Mohammad Hassan Akhund, was selected as a compromise candidate between moderate and hardline factions of the Taliban.
[27] The government was announced by the Taliban's chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid,[23] who stated that this cabinet was not complete, with further appointments intended to be made.
[34] In March 2022, the Taliban abruptly reversed plans to allow girls to resume secondary school education (defined as grade seven and up in Afghanistan).
Except for the current cohort of university students, this decision leaves graduating from sixth grade as the highest level of educational attainment possible for Afghan women.
