Mullah Mohammad Rabbani Akhund (1955 – 16 April 2001) was an Afghan politician and one of the main leaders of the Taliban movement who served as Prime Minister of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. He was second in power only to the supreme leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, in the Taliban hierarchy.
Rabbani fought the Soviet Union after it invaded Afghanistan in 1979. When the Soviet Union withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989, he initially stopped fighting. He joined the Taliban in 1994. While Rabbani and the ruling Leadership Council of Afghanistan constituted the public face of the country, the important decisions were made by Mullah Omar, who resided in the southern city of Kandahar.
Early years
Rabbani was born in 1955. He was from the Kakar tribe of Pashtuns. He obtained Islamic education at home in Pashmol in Kandahar Province, before participating in an Islamic seminary. However, there were differences between him and Mullah Omar regarding the influence of the Arabs and the need to establish a proper consultative government mechanism. Rabbani's power base was Jalalabad and he was not dependent on the Kandahari group for political support within the Taliban. According to a press release in Islamabad:
:Mullah Mohammad Rabbani was one of the main founders of the Movement and greatly contributed to peace and security in our country. His service to Islam is unforgettable. His demise is an irreparable loss.
Rabbani's body was repatriated to the southern Afghan city of Kandahar by a UN plane, permitted to operate on humanitarian grounds despite the air embargo against the Taliban Movement.
Regarding him as somewhat of a moderate, members of the opposition voiced fears that hardliners within the Taliban would strengthen their hold on power following Rabbani's death.