8am: The Taliban started replacing their Tajik-origin fighters with Pashtun-origin ones after militants from the group killed five Chinese citizens in Tajikistan. Sources reveal that the group decided to transfer and disarm some Tajik-origin fighters. At the same time, they stripped local Taliban members of duties like collecting mine revenues and distributing land for extraction. Instead, they assigned these tasks to outsiders, especially those tied to the Kandahari Taliban. Sources explain that two days ago, a Taliban delegation and 120 members of Unit 01 headed to Badakhshan’s Darwaz district. They aimed to arrest Juma Fateh, a local Taliban official there. But he skipped the meeting and fled the area. Sources spotted some of these fighters in Sheghnan, heading back to Fayzabad. Still, no one knows exactly how many non-local Taliban fighters linger in the Darwaz region. These sources predict that leaders will soon oust Fasihuddin Fetrat, the Taliban army chief of staff. They point out rising anxiety among the Badakhshan Taliban. The disarmament of locals and the shift in mine revenue control fuel the deepest worries about these changes. Click here to read more (external link).