Bill to: The Taliban shot and killed its first minority commander, Maulvi Mehdi, on the Iran border while trying to flee the country.
According to the international news agency, Maulvi Mehdi, the lone Taliban commander and leader belonging to the minority community, was shot dead near the Iranian border in Herat province.
Maulvi Mehdi was inducted as a commander by the Taliban a few years ago and was the only commander from a minority community to join the Taliban so far.
The involvement of cleric Mehdi, a Shia ideologue and who belongs to the Hazara community, was interpreted as a change in Taliban’s policies and a soft corner for minorities.
After the establishment of the government in Afghanistan, the Taliban appointed Maulvi Mehdi as the commander-in-chief of the majority province of the Hajar community, but the distance between him and the government was increasing.
Reports of differences between Hazara Shia commander Maulvi Mehdi and the Taliban had been circulating for a long time, and today the Taliban government’s Defense Ministry confirmed that Maulvi Mehdi was killed in the crossfire while fleeing to Iran.
International news organization Reuters tried to get the reaction of Maulvi Mehdi’s spokesman on this news, but could not be contacted.