Frud Bezhan
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
June 9, 2020
A new breakaway Afghan Taliban faction that has close ties to neighboring Iran and opposes efforts aimed at ending the 18-year insurgency in Afghanistan has emerged.
The Hezb-e Walayat-e Islami, or Party of Islamic Guardianship, is believed to have split from the mainstream Taliban soon after the United States and the militant group signed a landmark peace agreement in February.
The formation of the splinter group underlines the possible divisions within the Taliban, which has seen bitter leadership transitions and growing internal dissent in recent years.
It is unclear whether the new splinter group will rally broad support but its emergence could pose a new hurdle for the U.S.-Taliban deal, which has been undermined by violence, disputes, and delays.
Under that agreement, international forces will withdraw from Afghanistan by July 2021 in exchange for counterterrorism guarantees from the Taliban, which pledged to negotiate a permanent cease-fire and power-sharing deal with the Afghan government.
‘Early Stages Of Forming’
Antonio Giustozzi, a Taliban expert with the Royal United Services Institute in London, said it appears the new splinter group is based in Iran, which shares a 900-kilometer border with Afghanistan and has a sizeable Afghan population.
“It’s still in the early stages of forming,” said Giustozzi, adding that the military strength and the leadership of the faction is unknown.
An Afghan intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told RFE/RL that the new splinter group has not been “officially announced.” The official said members of the group included radical Taliban commanders and members of small Taliban offshoots.
A new report by a United Nations monitoring team made public on June 1 said that “at least one group of senior Taliban” had “formed a new group in opposition to any possible peace agreement.”
The breakaway faction was “composed mainly of dissident senior Taliban members residing outside Afghanistan,” said the report, which was based on information provided by Afghan and foreign intelligence and security services, think tanks, experts, and interlocutors.
Iran Building Taliban ‘Combat Capabilities’
The Hezb-e Walayat-e Islami joins a growing list of Taliban factions that support continued fighting against Afghan and international troops.
“There are several Taliban leaders, fronts, and commanders who oppose peace and are linked to Iran,” said Giustozzi.
Among them, he added, is Sirajuddin Haqqani, the deputy leader of the Taliban and the head of the Haqqani network, a powerful Taliban faction that is a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.
That is despite Haqqani’s op-ed in February in The New York Times, in which he voiced support for the peace deal with the United States.
Haqqani, who is the Taliban’s operational chief, has a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head. He is the son of the late radical Islamist leader Jalaluddin Haqqani, the founder of the Al-Qaeda-linked network blamed for some of Afghanistan’s deadliest suicide attacks.
The Haqqani network has strong ties to Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. But Giustozzi said the network is “getting closer” to Iran as Islamabad and Riyadh cut funding to it.
Other Iran-linked Taliban leaders who oppose peace efforts include Mullah Qayum Zakir, a powerful battlefield commander and the former military chief of the Taliban until 2014. A former inmate in the infamous U.S. prison at Cuba’s Guantanamo Bay, Mullah Zakir has the backing of hard-line field commanders.
Mullah Zakir leads a conservative Taliban faction along with Ibrahim Sadr, the Taliban’s former military commission chief. In October 2018, Sadr was among eight Taliban members designated global terrorists by the U.S. Treasury Department.
“Iranian officials agreed to provide Ibrahim with monetary support and individualized training in order to prevent a possible tracing back to Iran,” the Treasury Department said, adding that “Iranian trainers would help build Taliban tactical and combat capabilities.”
An Afghan intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the new splinter group included the followers of Sadr.
The officials said the new group also includes members of the Feday-e Mahaz (Suicide Brigade) a small, hard-core offshoot of the mainstream Taliban.
The group is believed to be led by Haji Najibullah, a loyalist to radical Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah, who was killed in a U.S.-led attack in Helmand Province in 2007.
The group, vehemently against reconciliation with Kabul, has claimed several high-profile assassinations over the years.
‘Material Support’
Iran backed the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance before the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, when the Taliban controlled most of Afghanistan. Tehran also provided help to U.S. forces as they toppled the Taliban regime. But in recent years the Islamic republic and the Taliban have forged closer ties, with militant leaders even visiting Tehran.
Tehran has confirmed it has contacts with the Taliban but insists that it is aimed at ensuring the safety of Iranian citizens in Afghanistan and encouraging the Taliban to join peace talks.
But U.S. officials have accused Tehran of providing material support to the Taliban, an allegation it denies.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in January accused Tehran of “actively working” to undermine the peace process in Afghanistan, adding that Iran was supporting the Taliban and the Haqqani network.
In a report released in November, the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) said Iran provides financial, political, training, and material support to the Taliban.
“Tehran does not seek to return the Taliban to power but aims to maintain influence with the group as a hedge in the event that the Taliban gains a role in a future Afghan government,” the report said, adding that Iran’s support enabled it to advance its interests in Afghanistan and attain “strategic depth” in the country.
Taliban Divided Over Peace
The emergence of the Taliban splinter group has exposed serious divisions within the militant group.
The Taliban is believed to be divided over a peace settlement.
Its political leadership based in Pakistan is believed to be more open to a peace deal but hard-line military commanders on the battlefield in Afghanistan demand the restoration of the Taliban regime that ruled from 1996 to 2001.
Internal Taliban divisions have intensified after the death of founder and spiritual leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, whose death was revealed in 2015, more than two years after he had died in Pakistan.
Some Taliban commanders accused his successor, Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansur, of covering up Mullah Omar’s death and assuming leadership of the extremist group without proper approval.
Mullah Mansur struggled to quell the internal dissent and reconcile feuding factions, with some commanders splitting from the group and challenging his leadership.
Mullah Mansur was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan in May 2016.
The succession of Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, a low-key Islamic scholar who was Mullah Mansur’s deputy, was also opposed.
But experts said the Taliban has overcome the succession crises, has fended off competition from the global appeal of the Islamic State (IS) extremist group, and has remained a relatively coherent fighting force despite a deadly war against foreign and Afghan forces.
Borhan Osman, an independent analyst and a leading expert on Islamic extremism and the militant networks operating in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, said divisions within the Taliban are not yet visible.
“So far the Taliban has been successful in spinning the agreement with the United States as an outright victory,” he said.
Osman said the Taliban’s unity will be tested during intra-Afghan talks, when Afghan and Taliban negotiators will discuss a permanent cease-fire and a power-sharing deal.
The negotiations were scheduled to start in March but were delayed by disputes over the release of Taliban prisoners by the government and escalating militant attacks.
“The Taliban will be forced to come up with specific positions on issues and present their vision for a future Afghanistan,” said Osman.
The Taliban has been ambiguous on key issues, including women’s rights, the future distribution of power, and changes to the Afghan Constitution, reflecting the divisions within the group.
Many expect intra-Afghan negotiations to be complex and protracted, considering the gulf between the sides on policy and the sharing of power between the Taliban and the Afghan government.
Taliban Offshoots
Internal rifts and rivalries have led to the emergence of various Taliban offshoots over the years, although many lack the military strength and support to pose a threat to the mainstream group.
The High Council of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan — led by Mullah Mohammad Rasul — has been engaged in deadly clashes with fighters from the mainstream Taliban in southern and western Afghanistan since 2015, leaving scores dead on both sides.
The clashes have left the offshoot severely weakened, experts said, with many considering the group to be militarily irrelevant.
Mullah Rasul is believed to receive arms and support from Afghan intelligence in an attempt to divide the militant group.
Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.
This
guy
is neither
a
Muslim nor
from
an
Islamic country- somehow
he
is
favored by the
Western-stationed
media
to
spread out
phony claims.
======
=====
===
Check
it
out- *all
politicized and confused !
•
Highly-speculative
journalisms- it
does
not worth
reporting !
•
Regional news-coverages
are much more
insightful !
•
*Maybe; it is
intended
to
sideline
the two major
Islamic parties
of
Afghanistan:
===================
*Jamiat and *Hezb Islami.
•
Regardless;
*we
need proper
news-reporting !
•
Stop;
confusing
yourself and the world
in
general !
•
Find
a
good and honest
*local journalist !
•
*TURKEY AND *IRAN
===============
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HOLD
THE
“ KEY”
to
PEACE
IN
AFGHANISTAN
•———————•
•———————•
*YES !
••••••••
Believe it or not- it won’t matter either, if
*you
like it or not !
==============
==============
Turkey and Iran
together,
have
the
*real key
to be able to
initiate
a
viable peace process
for
Afghanistan-
*************
BEYOND THE SHADOW
OF
ANY
DOUBT !
================
===========
=====
HERE
ARE THE
PROOFS !!!!!
================================
================================
—————-
—————-
—————-
GENERAL FACTS
============
============
.
Turkey :>—
((with a population
of
over 83 millions))
.
is
still,
((directly and/or indirectly))
heavily manipulated,
by
the
political games and displays
of
the
Western World.
.
Turkey have had
close diplomatic ties, with the west, especially, since the era
of
the
Westernized
Atta Turk. As a later
NATO member
it was obligated
to join the
Western alliance
by
taking
a nominal but, surely, an active
role
in
Western
military invasion
of
Afghanistan.
.
Turkey is host
to
many
important
Western military bases
and
most
Turkish
generals, are
educated and trained
in
the
West.
.
—————————————
—————————————
—————————————
Iran :>—
((with a population
of
over 83 millions))
.
Iran, ((which has a long
and
closely interactive
case history with
the
Western World)),
is
highly dependent
on
oil revenues
and
easy access
to
global markets
for its
urgently-needed
domestic consumptions and exports.
.
Tight embargoes and other forms
of
restrictions could easily disrupt
normal lives
for
the
ordinary local folks
inside
Iran. That is how the
Anglo/US allies, pull it all
against
Iran
on
their up and down
diplomatic interactions nowadays- which,
of coarse,
turns it always
flaky and unpredictable.
Iran, as a strategic
Middle Eastern country,
carries
considerable weights
in
politics
of
the
region and even beyond.
—————————————
—————————————
—————————————
—————————————
—————————————
ARGUMENTS :
******************
*********
*****
—————————————
There are more than
450 million
Muslims
living
in and around
Afghanistan; including nearby Turkey.
===========================
.,,,.Pakistan; more than 200 millions
…..Afghanistan; about…40 millions
…..Central Asia about….80 millions
…..Iran; more than………,83 millions
…,,Turkey; more than……83 millions;
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-which
all
adds up to almost
half
a
billion- more than the combined population
of
the
US and Britain..
We all know that the Islamic leaders
of
Central Asia would never be able
to
help
initiate any independent
“peace initiative”
on
their own without the
Russian’s
approval- by the same toke,
it
is
well-known that Pakistani
politicians and field generals
are all
serving the exclusive nterests
of
their
Anglo/US overlords
=============
=============
We
can only
appeal directly
to
people of Pakistan and Central Asia
to
stand by the people
of
Afghanistan in regards
to
any facilitation
in getting
help
to be able to initiate any
civilized peace process that will bring
honor, peace and harmony
to
all the oppressed people
of
the region.
========
========
========
logically though;
Turkey and Iran
are the only
Islamic countries
that could be functional as an integral part
of
the equation that would
be able
to,
somehow, launch dialogues and persuade
the
Western
military and political leaderships
to
stop savage continuation
of
aggressive policies
and
seek honorable and impartial ways
to
seeks for find
a
workable route
for the
restoration
of
a
normal and civilized
environment
in
Afghanistan.
•
It is all obvious
that
the
Western military and political
megalomaniacs are
still heavily
counting
and
relying
on
a
unilateral war of attrition that, some how someday hopefully would magically
deliver them
to
the verge
a; so called,
“hypothetically unconditional victory”.
.
It is a case history which has always worked out
aa
a
last
resort
by
the
Western intense
International
“political and military involvements”
in
various hot spots around the globe.
which, ironically, had always been
aggressively and relentlessly
backed up
and
played out; specially,
at
their final
stages- obviously; all
on
expense of the local
innocent lives during various modern
times since the Second World War- Afghanistan
is
no exception
to
“the rule” !
===============================
===============================
.
Turkish and Iranian
unified and impartial stand
would definitely be the only way
to
encourage the
Western
military and political leaders to
formulate
a
realistic
“peace plan”.
It could really happen, if those two
populous Islamic countries
resolve their irrelevant
historic difference
and
voice
their sincere concerns
as one unified Islamic front.
We don’t want
to
see similar
naive approaches, by taking sides with the artificially Western-created
fanatic combatant
that led
to
destruction
of
“Great Syria”.
The foreign-imposed fanatics were used
to ignite
the
warfares and then
Turkey and Iran
were forced
to
actively take side
that then
led
to
further
destruction and division
of
proud ancient Syria.
===================
===================
===================
To
make it short; we
ask
all the
honorable
Muslim people
of
Great
*Turkey and *Iran
==================
“DIRECTly”
to
encourage their
governments
to
unify under one
“impartial umbrella”
for
the sake
of
restoration
of
a viable peaceful environment
for all
the
people
of
Afghanistan.
•