Gul Agha Ishakzai

Gul Agha Ishakzaiگل آغا اسحاقزی
Minister of Mines and Petroleum
Acting
Assumed office 6 July 2024
Preceded byShahabuddin Delawar (acting)
Governor of Da Afghanistan Bank
Acting
In officeMarch 2023 – 6 July 2024
Preceded byShakir Jalali (acting)
Succeeded byNoor Ahmad Agha (acting)
Minister of Finance
Acting
In office24 August 2021 – 30 May 2023
Preceded byKhalid Payenda
Succeeded byNasir Akhund
Principal Finance Officer to the Leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
In officec. 1995 – c. 2001
LeaderMohammed Omar
Personal details
Born1972 (age 53–54)
Band-e-Temur, Maiwand District, Kandahar Province
NationalityAfghanistan
PartyTaliban (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan)
OccupationPolitician, Taliban member

Gul Agha Ishakzai (born c. 1972), also known as Mullah Hidayatullah Badri[1] (Pashto: ملا هدایت الله بدري[hɪdajatʊˈlɑbaˈdri]), is a politician in Afghanistan. Since July 2024, he is serving as the acting Minister of Mines and Petroleum.[2] Prior to that he served as the country's Finance Minister[3][4][5] and the acting governor of Da Afghanistan Bank from March 2023 to July 2024.[6][7][8]

Biographical information

Gul Agha was born in Band-e-Temur, Maiwand District, Kandahar Province. He belongs to the Ishaqzaitribe, and was a childhood friend of Taliban founder MullahMohammed Omar. He has also been known as Mullah Gul Agha, Mullah Gul Agha Akhund, Hidayatullah, Haji Hidayatullah, and Hayadatullah.[9][10]

Role in the Taliban

During the insurgency period, Agha led the Taliban's financial commission.[11] His role within the Taliban organization was to collect taxes (zakat) from Baluchistan Province, Pakistan. He has organised funding for suicide attacks in Kandahar, Afghanistan, and for Taliban fighters and their families. He also has links to the related Haqqani network. A number of countries and international organisations; including the United States, the United Nations, and the European Union, have implemented sanctions against him and his associates under counter-terrorism financing measures.[9][10][12]

He was a long-time associate of Mohammed Omar; he served as Omar's principal finance officer and one of his closest advisors, living in the presidential palace with him during the first Taliban regime.[9][10]

He was made head of Talibans' Financial Commission in mid-2013. According to a UN Security Council report in January 2015, Agha, together with other members of the Quetta Shura, showed interest in restarting peace negotiations with the Afghan Government.[13]

On 24 August 2021, he was appointed acting finance minister by the new Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.[14]

He was appointed acting Minister of Mines and Petroleum on 6 July 2024, with Noor Ahmad Agha taking his place as acting Governor of Da Afghanistan Bank.[15]

Agha was aboard a helicopter of the Afghan Air Force that crashed in Ghor Province on 10 September 2025. No one on board the helicopter died or was injured.[16][17]

See also

References

  1. ^"Council Implementing Decision 2014/142/CFSP of 14 March 2014 implementing Decision 2011/486/CFSP concerning restrictive measures directed against certain individuals, groups, undertakings and entities in view of the situation in Afghanistan". Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  2. ^"Changes in Govt Positions Announced by Islamic Emirate". TOLONews. 7 July 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  3. ^"Mullah Hasan Akhund named acting Afghan prime minister". 7 September 2021.
  4. ^"Taliban announce 33-man caretaker cabinet". Pajhwok Afghan News. 7 September 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  5. ^"The interior minister of the Afghan government is wanted by the FBI". 7 September 2021.
  6. ^"Mullah Badri named as Da Afghanistan Bank chief". 22 March 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  7. ^"Afghani strengthens by 4.4% against US dollar: central bank". 9 August 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  8. ^"Central bank chief Badri wounded in traffic accident". 2 September 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  9. ^ abcCouncil of the European Union. Council Implementing Decision 2014/142/CFSP of 14 March 2014 implementing Decision 2011/486/CFSP concerning restrictive measures directed against certain individuals, groups, undertakings and entities in view of the situation in Afghanistan (Document 32014D0142). published by the European Union. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  10. ^ abcArchie M. Bolster (United States Department of State Review Authority / The National Security Archive). Instruction to Nominate Four Terrorist Leaders(PDF). George Washington University. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  11. ^United Nations Security Council - Gul Agha Ishakzai
  12. ^R. Gunaratna, D. Woodall - page 126 of text published by Rowman & Littlefield, 26 Jan 2015, 288 pages, ISBN 1442245069 [Retrieved 2015-11-09]
  13. ^Chair of the Security Council Committee, Gerard van Bohemen - Letter dated to 18 August 2015 United Nations Security Committee Retrieved 2015-11-09
  14. ^"Govt officials appointed by the Taliban so far". Geo News. 24 August 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  15. ^"Taliban leader's cabinet reshuffle again dominated by reassignments". Amu TV. 6 July 2024. Archived from the original on 22 July 2024. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
  16. ^Mohammadi, Habib (10 September 2025). "Taliban chopper crashes in central Afghanistan". Amu TV. Archived from the original on 17 September 2025. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  17. ^"Helicopter crashes in Ghor". Afghan Islamic Press. 11 September 2025. Archived from the original on 17 September 2025. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
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