Battle of Kandahar After NATO forces had largely withdrawn from Kandahar as part of the larger summer
2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, Taliban troops fought a month-long battle against remaining
Afghan National Army (ANA) forces of the collapsing Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, backed by
U.S. Air Force close air support. Though key Afghan government officials and military personnel were evacuated through
Kandahar Airport, Taliban forces led by Wafa captured the provincial capital,
Kandahar City, and Wafa (service as Taliban shadow governor) accepted the surrender of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan's provincial governor,
Rohullah Khanzada.
Provincial Governor of Kandahar Following the August
2021 Talban capture of Afghanistan, Wafa was appointed by Afghanistan's supreme leader, Mullah
Haibatullah Akhundzada, to serve as the first provincial governor of Kandahar in the new Taliban-led Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan government. While serving as Kandahar's provincial governor, Wafa held a meeting with businessmen from the Hong-Kong-based Chinese firm
CITIC Limited where he solicited Chinese investment in Kandahar Province. Other meetings convened and advertised by Wafa's office include a meeting with religious
ulema to discuss the state of the
ummah and a meeting with
Save the Children General Manager Christo Parnimandi. In September 2021, Wafa was photographed joining a group of municipal staff to sweep the streets of Kandahar and, in the same month, reportedly gathered the city's begging women to provide them food and a monetary stipend.
Islamic State The
Islamic State's Khorasan Province conducted only one attack in Kandahar during Wafa's tenure. On 15 October 2021, four ISIS–K suicide bombers entered and conducted successive bombings in the
Shia Imam Bargah Mosque (also known as the
Fatima Mosque), killing at least 65 worshippers and wounding more than 70 others. The bombing occurred only one week after a similar Shia mosque bombing in Kunduz, after which the Taliban government promised additional security at Shia mosques.
Provincial Governor of Balkh In March 2023, the provincial governor of Balkh Province, Mawlawi
Mohammad Dawood Muzamil, was killed in a suicide bombing by the
Islamic State' Khorasan Province (ISIS–K). Shortly after, Wafa's spokesperson Haji Zaid announced that Wafa would serve as acting governor of Balkh Province in the meantime. While governor, Wafa met with the president of the ICRC and diplomats from six other nations in December 2023 where he was quoted as saying "Despite the fact that security prevails in Afghanistan, corruption has been eliminated and the fight against narcotics has been carried out, the world still does not want to interact with the Islamic Emirate." Wafa also asked the attending diplomats to share word of Afghanistan's success. While governor, Wafa reportedly provided 100,000
AFN (approximately $1,400
USD) in cash to a resident who had sold his household goods out of
poverty. In April 2024, Wafa joined Uzbek deputy foreign minister Erkin Khamraev to oversee the delivery of 169 tonnes of food aid from Uzbekistan to alleviate the high rates of starvation in Afghanistan. Balkh Province is the only Afghan province to share a border with Uzbekistan. During Wafa's tenure as Balkh provincial governor, and only days after his predecessor's assassination by ISIS–K, the group bombed an Iranian (Shia) center in the city of
Mazar-i-Sharif, killing 4 and wounding 16 others. == Controversies ==