Time magazine 2021 has released its list of the 100 most influential people in the world. It also includes a name that has surprised everyone. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the deputy prime minister in the new Taliban government and top figure in the Doha talks, has been included in Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people. Mullah Baradar led the Taliban in talks with the US during the peace deal.

Baradar was the key face of the Taliban when US Special Representative for Afghan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad officially signed the peace deal in Doha in February 2020. Time magazine introduced Baradar as a quiet, mysterious person who rarely makes public statements or interviews. It said Mullah Baradar took all major decisions, including pardoning members of the former regime, preventing bloodshed when the Taliban entered Kabul, and contacts and visits with neighboring China and Pakistan.

Baradar was arrested in Pakistan by the country’s security forces in 2010 and released in 2018, after the US stepped up efforts to leave Afghanistan. However, despite being a co-founder of the Taliban and playing a top role in negotiations with the US, it is believed that Baradar has been given a relatively low position in the caretaker government.

However, there were reports of the death of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s deputy PM after the fight over seat of power in Afghanistan. Taliban government then put out an audio message confirming he was alive and not injured. In the clip, Baradar said that there had been news about his death but he is still alive and is safe wherever he is. 

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Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Adar Poonawalla of Serum Institute of India are included in the list released by Time magazine. Apart from this, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Prince Harry and Megan, US President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and former US President Donald Trump are included in this global list.

In other India news, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced the launch of ‘Uttar Pradesh Matra  Bhumi Yojana’.

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