Mullah Hassan Akhund
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
August 17, 2024
The Afghan Taliban’s acting prime minister, Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, who is on a UN sanctions list, is receiving medical treatment in a hospital in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), officials said. U.A.E. President Muhammad bin Zayed al-Nahyan visited the Taliban leader “to inquire about his health,” a spokeswoman for the U.A.E. Foreign Ministry said on social media, without providing many details. Akhund did not attend Taliban ceremonies in Kabul on August 14 that marked the third anniversary of the group’s return to power in Afghanistan.