Michael Hughes: According to realist theorist Hans Morgenthau, all politics is a struggle for power – a theory based on the darkest views of human nature; and one that is, unfortunately, applicable to the state of politics in most capitals worldwide. The power struggles do not only occur between reigning and opposition factions. Those who take power are often forced to fight internal battles to remain in power, and such is the case in Afghanistan – where civil wars within civil wars are brewing.
Afghan governments have suffered divisions since the Durrani monarchy collapsed in a spat between cousins in the 1970s, which ended four decades of relative stability and unity. The government used strong-hand tactics to be sure. The Durrani dynasty endured by employing a Turkic-Mongol autocratic structure adopted from Nadir Shah’s Persia. But the model was less important than pragmatic policies – the rulers from 1933 to 1973 kept the rule from entanglement in foreign conflicts, while preventing the eruption of civil war.
Many are mistaken to think the Taliban were strongly united under Mullah Omar. In fact, as we’ve reported here, the one-eyed Mullah’s overthrow was thwarted by the U.S. bombing campaign which of course pushed the Taliban together against the foreign invader. The Taliban tried and failed to implement a caliphate model along the lines of Ottoman and Arab rulers. The structured centralized hierarchy turned out to be brittle and ripe for implosion.
Taliban 2.0 was founded on an even flimsier ground than the first version.
Afghanistan International: Documents reviewed by Afghanistan International indicate that members of the Taliban have cooperated in the legal proceedings leading to a request for the arrest of Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, the group’s supreme leader, and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, its chief justice. It remains unclear what ranks and positions these Taliban members hold or how they managed to testify or provide evidence against their leader. 
Afghanistan International: The Taliban’s Administrative Office has issued a directive instructing officials not to visit the grave of Mullah Omar, the group’s founder, without prior notice and coordination with Taliban authorities in Zabul, according to documents published by “TalibLeaks.” In 2024, the Taliban’s Administrative Office had previously sent a letter to the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, warning against uncoordinated visits to Mullah Omar’s resting place. The letter cited “security concerns” as the reason for mandating prior approval before visiting the site in Zabul. 
Tolo News: “Embassies should have a single authority; either officials of the Islamic Emirate should operate them, or representatives of the former republic. I do not think that both governments and the Islamic Emirate will engage with the former republic’s representatives. Therefore, it is better for them to be handed over to the Islamic Emirate to provide better consular services for Afghan migrants,” said Salim Paigir, a political analyst. Previously, the operations of Afghan embassies in London, Norway, Sweden, India, and Canada had been halted, and these missions have not yet been transferred to the Islamic Emirate. 
Amu: The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has confirmed that England’s scheduled match against Afghanistan in the Champions League will go ahead as planned, despite calls for a boycott over Afghanistan’s lack of a women’s cricket team. According to the BBC, the ECB held a meeting on Thursday after nearly 200 British politicians signed a cross-party letter urging England to withdraw from the match in protest of the Taliban’s human rights record. However, the board decided that the game, set to take place in Lahore on Feb. 26, will proceed as scheduled. 
Amu: A group of unidentified hackers has carried out a rare cyberattack on Taliban databases, leaking documents from 21 ministries and government agencies. The leaked records, published online, suggest that the Taliban has imprisoned approximately 1,400 women and more than 16,000 men. According to the documents, Taliban leader Haibatullah Akhundzada has also banned overseas academic travel without his direct approval and has placed travel restrictions on more than 8,000 former government employees, barring them from leaving the country. 
Ayaz Gul