Quiet Taliban Deal Maker Holds Key Role for Afghan Future

Baradar was essentially the re-founder of the Taliban from 2002-3,” said Antonio Giustozzi, author of 'The Taliban at War: 2001-2018,' and a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London. “It was Baradar who changed the Taliban from a charismatic-led movement, under an autocratic leader such as Omar” to a collegial movement in which Bardar was always first among equals, he said.