Mullah Mohammed Omar often simply called Mullah Omar, is the spiritual leader of the Taliban. He was Afghanistan's de facto 11th head of state from 1996 to late 2001, under the official title "Head of the Supreme Council". He held the title Commander of the Faithful of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, which was recognized by only three nations: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. He is thought to be living somewhere in Pakistan.
Mullah Omar has been wanted by the U.S. State Department's Rewards for Justice program since October 2001, for sheltering Osama Bin Laden and al-Qaeda militants in the years prior to the September 11 attacks.Those who were close to him say that he requested evidence from the United States regarding bin Laden and his alleged hand in the 9/11 attacks but did not receive any. He is believed to be directing the Taliban insurgency against the U.S.-led NATO forces and the Government of Afghanistan.

Pashtun people, also known as ethnic Afghans or Pathans, form an ethnic group with populations primarily in Afghanistan and Pakistan. They are typically characterised by the usage of the Pashto language and practice of Pashtunwali, which is a traditional set of ethics guiding individual and communal conduct. Their origin is unclear but historians have come across references to various ancient peoples called Pakthas between the 2nd and the 1st millennium BC, inhabiting the region between the Hindu Kush mountains and the Indus River, who may be the early ancestors of the Pashtun people. Since the 3rd century AD, they have been mostly referred to by the ethnonym "Afghan".