Government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan

The position of Leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan[3] is derived from the original political structure of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 during Mohammed Omar’s time in power. Omar was formally addressed as Amir al-Mu’minin and held the official position of Head of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.[4] In the 1998 draft constitution, Amir al-Mu’minin was the official title of the head-of-state.

The current position of supreme leader, held by Haibatullah Akhundzada, is head of state, commander-in-chief of the Islamic Army of Afghanistan, the country’s highest religious authority, and has final approval and say on all political decisions and appointments. All legislators, cabinet ministers, and judges are directly appointed by the supreme leader after consultation and approval with the Rahbari Shura. The supreme leader can also nominate members of the Rahbari Shura to propose officials for final approval.[5]

The Leadership Council of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,[6] often called the Rahbari Shura, is the de facto executive and legislative body of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan whose members were senior officials in the regime of Mullah Omar, evolving in to the Quetta Shura in Pakistan.[7] The predecessor of the Rahbari Shura was the Supreme Council of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan which Omar headed himself. The council composed of the cabinet ministers, chief justice, and senior military commanders.

The Rahbari Shura contains 30[8] members with just over half leading 18 commissions responsible for overseeing different areas of policy. Other members include ulema senior commanders. Before their takeover in 2021, the Taliban was governed by the Rahbari Shura with the commissions acting as government agencies and departments in the territories they held.[9]

Currently the Rahbari Shura exercises de jure oversight over the Cabinet of Afghanistan, judicial system, and security forces with the power to approve or dismiss judges, commanders, and cabinet ministers. Key cabinet appointments however such as Defence Minister, Interior Minister, and Foreign Minister are made directly by the Rahbari Shura. Most members of the department heads within cabinet however are primarily members of the Shura, with responsibilities to both bodies being synonymous. In practice; this means the cabinet is effectively powerless with most decisions being made by the Rahbari Shura. The commissions that make up the Rahbari Shura are the:[10]

• High Court of Justice
• Political Affairs Commission
• Military Affairs Commission
• Cultural Affairs Commission
• Economic Commission
• Independent Financial Authority
• Education Commission
• Health Commission
• Institutional Commission
• Prisoner Affairs Commission
• Agriculture Commission
• Public Utilities Authority
• Border Commission
• Orphans and Disability Authority
• Intelligence Commission
• Mining Commission
• Guidance and Invitation Commission
• Prevention/Hearing Accounts of Civilian Casualties
• Officers for Religious Scholarship and Monitoring

The position of Prime Minister of Afghanistan has existed since the Kingdom of Afghanistan. The position was appointed and later elected during the rule of the Barakzai dynasty until the Islamic State of Afghanistan. The post was abolished under the Islamic Emirate and Islamic Republic, but later reconstituted after the fall of Kabul in 2021.

The current position of prime minister, unlike previous regimes; is extremely limited in power, being responsible for overseeing the civil service as head of the Council of Ministers. All decisions are actually made by the supreme leader and the Rahbari Shura based in Kandahar.[11] The current Prime Minister is Mohammed Hassan Akhund who was appointed on September 7, 2021. The prime minister is also have two deputies beneath him in the First Deputy Prime Minister and Second Deputy Prime Minister. These positions are held by Abdul Ghani Baradar and Abdul Salam Hanafi respectively.[12]

The prime minister and deputy prime ministers are members of the Rahbari Shura, often being heads or members of the Political Affairs Commission.

The cabinet, officially called the Council of Ministers, is currently caretaker government that was announced on September 7, 2021 with all positions except the Minister of Health going to Taliban members, all male, with mostly Pashtun heritage.[12] By September 21, 2021 additional deputy ministers were announced with members from significant minority areas such as Panjshir, Baghlan, and Sar-e-Pul. Several of the deputy ministers included were also Tajik, Uzbek, and Hazara. However not women were included.[13]

The cabinet is responsible for overseeing the Afghan civil service by coordinating the work of it’s ministry and agency heads. In theory the Rahbari Shura is responsible for overseeing the work of the cabinet and directly appointing key posts such as prime minister, interior minister, foreign minister, and defence minister.[5] In practice however, most cabinet members however are also members of the Rahbari Shura who are either members or heads of their respective commissions within, answering to the supreme leader.[8]

The Supreme Court is a continuation Supreme Court of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. It functions as the court of last resort, however, the head of the Supreme Court, as part of the Rahbari Shura is answerable only to the Leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is appointed by the Leader in consultation with the Rahbari Shura.[10]

Each province has a provincial court which is composed of one judge and two scholars from the ulema. Provincial courts function as a court of second instance resolving issues that could not be resolved at the local level. Justices of provincial courts are nominated by provincial governors for approval and appointment by the Amir al-Mu’minin.[16]

Legal disputes were first handled by jirgas convened at the district, municipal, and village level. A number of ulema and a commander, if the case involved fighters, would preside over cases. In larger cities like Kabul, Kandahar, Herat, or Mazar-I-Sharif, cases would be dealt with by a single judge versed in fiqh.[17][18]

The provinces are headed by governors who are appointed by the Amir al-Mu’minin in consultation with the Rahbari Shura. The Governor in turn oversees the governing of the province through various commissions set-up to handle different aspects of governance and security. The provincial governor presided over several district governors who where also appointed by the supreme leadership.[16]

As with the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, provinces are composed of several districts presided over by a governor. As with the provincial governor, the district’s governor oversees their area’s respective civil service in the form of several commissions to oversee various aspects of governance.[16]