Taliban appoints Mawlawi Abdul Hakim as new chief negotiator
Sep 07, 2020
Kabul [Afghanistan], September 7 : Taliban leaders have appointed Mawlawi Abdul Hakim, the chief justice of the group, as head of their 21-member negotiating team in Qatar, TOLO News reported.
Citing sources close to the Taliban, TOLO news reported that most of the fatwas (rulings) of the group, particularly on war, are issued by Mawlawi Abdul Hakim and that he will attend the negotiating table with full authority.
The former chief negotiator Abbas Stanekzai will be Mawlawi's deputy.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Naeem Wardak has been appointed as the spokesman of their negotiating team.
The new appointments come amid the intra-Afghan negotiations that are about to be finalised from the two sides - Afghanistan and the Taliban.
