Abdul Qahar Balkhi
Afghanistan
spokesperson
government
Abdul Qahar Balkhi is an Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan official and the current spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan since 25 September 2021. He was designated as a member of the Taliban's Cultural Commission after the fall of Kabul until his exact role in the Taliban government was determined. He also served the Taliban media office in the early 2010s.
Standing...
Stories...
Sep 15, 2026
Lean Left
The Taliban spokesperson spoke with CBS News 25 years after 9/11, five years after the group's return to power, discussing peace claims and restrictions on women and girls.
The left is critical of the Taliban's gender apartheid, but also uses this moment to argue that endless war was never the answer and that Afghan women's rights require diplomacy, not just military force.