Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai

Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai
شیر محمد عباس ستانکزی
Stanikzai in 2020
Acting Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
7 September 2021  27 January 2025
Supreme LeaderHibatullah Akhundzada
MinisterAmir Khan Muttaqi (acting)
Succeeded byNaeem Wardak (2025)
In office
c. 1996  December 2001
Supreme LeaderMohammed Omar
MinisterMohammad Ghous
Abdul Jalil
Hasan Akhund
Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil
Head of the Political Office of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
In office
November 2015  24 January 2019
Acting: 6 August 2015 – November 2015
Supreme Leader
Preceded byTayyab Agha
Succeeded byAbdul Ghani Baradar
Deputy Minister of Public Health
In office
1998–2001
Supreme LeaderMohammed Omar
Personal details
Born1963 (age 6162)
Baraki Barak, Logar, Kingdom of Afghanistan
Alma materUniversity of Kabul
Indian Military Academy
OccupationPolitician, Taliban member
Political affiliationTaliban
Military service
Allegiance Democratic Republic of Afghanistan
Islamic Revolution Movement
Islamic Dawah Organisation of Afghanistan
 Taliban (1990s–present)
Branch/service Afghan Army
Rank Lieutenant
Battles/warsSoviet–Afghan War
Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)
Afghan Civil War (1992–1996)
War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)

Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai (Pashto: شیر محمد عباس ستانکزئی [ʃɪr mʊˈhamad aˈbɑs stɑnɪkˈzai]; born 1963) is an Afghan politician, a senior member of the Afghan Taliban and the country's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in the internationally unrecognized Taliban regime from 7 September 2021 to 27 January 2025.

He was an officer in the Afghan Army after training at an army academy in India. He defected from the army and joined Islamic movements to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan. He was a deputy cabinet minister in the first Taliban government. He has been a senior member of the Taliban's political office in Doha since it was set up in 2012, and was its head from 2015 to 2020. He speaks English, Urdu, Pashto, and Dari and has travelled widely to other countries as a Taliban political representative. On 7 September 2021, Sher Abbas was appointed as the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. On 18 January 2025, he gave a speech in favor of girls' education and women's rights. On 27 January 2025, Afghanistan International reported that he had left Afghanistan after Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada issued an exit ban and arrest warrant against him.