Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai (Pashto: شیر محمد عباس ستانکزئی [ʃɪr mʊˈhamad aˈbɑs stɑnɪkˈzai]; born 1963) is an Afghan politician, a senior member of the Afghan Taliban and the country's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in the internationally unrecognized Taliban regime from 7 September 2021 to 27 January 2025.

He speaks English, Urdu, Pashto, and Dari and has travelled widely to other countries as a Taliban political representative.

Other mujahideen gossiped about this; in return Stanikzai criticised them for their old-fashioned ideas about keeping women secluded in their homes.

He traveled to Washington, D.C. as acting foreign minister on 24 September 1997 to ask the Clinton administration to extend diplomatic recognition to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.

[13] In 1998 he reportedly drew the ire of Taliban leader Mohammed Omar, possibly related to issues of abuse of power and a loose attitude to alcohol, and was removed from his position and placed under house arrest.

However, his connections with the Pakistani military intelligence agency, which had influence over the Taliban leadership, worked in his favour and a few months later he was appointed as deputy minister of health, albeit a less important position than in foreign affairs.

[12] Stanikzai arrived in Qatar with Tayyab Agha and others in January 2012 to facilitate the opening of the Taliban's political office in that country.

Stanikzai also spoke of the country's Sikhs and Hindus, stating that they could live peacefully and hoping that those who left would return.

[22][23] During a televised speech in September 2022, Stanikzai urged the government to reopen schools for girls, saying that there was no religious justification to prevent female education.

According to sources from Afghanistan International, Mullah Yaqoob, the Taliban's defence minister, provided the conditions for his immediate visit to Dubai.