Fasihuddin Fitrat

Muhammad Fasihuddin Fitrat (Dari: محمد فصیح‌الدین فطرت, romanized: Muḥammad Faṣīḥuddīn Fiṭrat) is an Afghan politician and military leader who is serving as the chief of general staff of the Afghan Armed Forces since 2021. An ethnic Tajik, he is one of the seniormost members of the Taliban. Born in Istirab, Warduj District, Fitrat completed his education at a madrasa in Yamgan District. He joined the Taliban in the late 1990s and played a prominent role in toppling Northern Alliance strongholds. After the United States invasion of Afghanistan ousted the Taliban's Islamic Emirate, Fitrat moved to Karachi for some while before returning to northern Afghanistan. In 2013, during the Taliban insurgency, he was appointed the shadow governor of Badakhshan Province and rose to ranks within the Taliban. During the 2021 Taliban insurgency, Fitrat led Taliban forces from the northern Tajik-dominated regions of Afghanistan. He seized the Panjshir Province from the National Resistance Front (NRF) in September 2021, after which the Taliban gained control over whole of Afghanistan. As such, he became known as Fatih-i Shumal ("Conqueror of the North") among the Taiban. In 2022, Fitrat suppressed the Balkhab revolt led by Afghan Hazara rebel leader Mahdi Mujahid. Fitrat has also led Taliban's operations against ISIS Khorasan (ISIS-K).