Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has assumed direct control over Afghanistan’s financial affairs and relocated key fiscal authority from Kabul to Kandahar, according to four officials with knowledge of the matter.
The move, which has not been publicly announced by the Taliban administration, sidelines the Ministry of Finance and centralizes decision-making in Hibatullah’s stronghold in southern Afghanistan. Sources familiar with internal operations said Akhundzada has established a financial office in Kandahar through which he oversees national budgetary and revenue matters.
