By Ebi Kesiena
Damullah Mohibullah Mowaffaq, one of the top snipers in the ranks of the Taliban, was made mayor of Maymana, capital of Faryab province in the far reaches of northwest Afghanistan, in November, three months after the Taliban ousted the Western-backed government and seized power.
Mowaffaq rose to prominence as a fighter, but now his schedule is packed with the daily tasks of local government, unblocking sewers, planning roads, and smoothing over neighbourhood quarrels.
His switch reflects the broader transformation that the Taliban are undergoing, as the insurgents grapple with administering the territory.
“When I was fighting my objectives were very specific: to end the foreign occupation, discrimination and injustice,” the 25-year-old told AFP.
“Now my goals are also clear: to fight corruption and make the country prosper.”
On a walk through the streets of Maymana, the new mayor talks with municipal workers clearing roadside gutters. Strolling through the town of Maymana, the new mayor appears to inspire goodwill from war-weary constituents in the Afghan provincial capital.
Residents of the city of 100,000 approaches with complaints and suggestions, which are dutifully added to an ever-growing to-do list.
According to non-Taliban deputy, Sayed Ahmad Shah Gheyasi, the new mayor is young, well-educated and, very importantly, from the city.
“He knows how to deal with people.”
Unlike the poor, madrassa-educated rural men who make up the Taliban rank and file, Mowaffaq comes from a family of wealthy traders and grew up in Maymana, where he excelled at school and in sport.
After joining the insurgency at 19, he was promoted to command a small unit deployed in Faryab province.
Others describe him as one of the Taliban’s most talented snipers, although he appears reluctant to be drawn into telling war stories.
