Afghanistan International: Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani attended a recent security meeting in Kandahar chaired by Taliban supreme leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada. Haqqani briefed Akhundzada during the meeting, which also included Defence Minister Mohammad Yaqub Mujahid and Intelligence Chief Abdul Haq Wasiq. Click here to read more (external link).
Afghanistan International: Nine countries have issued a joint statement backing the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants against Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani. The statement was signed by Denmark, France, Greece, Guyana, Panama, South Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, and the United Kingdom. These countries condemned the Taliban’s
Amu: Taliban leader Haibatullah Akhundzada has appointed five new provincial police chiefs in recent weeks, bypassing Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, who has been absent from public view for over a month, sources said. Mohammad Asif Siddiqui, a former deputy chairman of the Afghan Senate, said that police appointments now come directly from Akhundzada without the
Afghanistan International: Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada is reportedly planning to convene a Loya Jirga in an effort to transition his administration from an interim government to a recognised ruling body. However, political opponents, Afghan political figures inside Afghanistan, women, and human rights activists are expected to be excluded from the gathering. The assembly is expected
Ayaz Gul VOA News February 20, 2025 Islamabad — Afghanistan’s radical Taliban leaders on Thursday rejected the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) over their country, declaring as ‘unlawful’ the decision in 2003 by their predecessors to join the Hague-based court’s founding treaty. The decision follows the ICC chief prosecutor’s announcement last month, seeking arrest
Ayaz Gul VOA News February 13, 2025 ISLAMABAD — The leader of Afghanistan’s governing radical Taliban has defended his policies, including banning female access to education and employment, asserting that they are derived from the “commands of Allah.” Hibatullah Akhundzada’s assertions came days after the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court announced he was seeking
By Mustafa Sarwar and Frud Bezhan Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty February 13, 2025 The Taliban has for years presented a united front to the outside world and kept a tight lid on dissent within its ranks. But unprecedented displays of discord have laid bare the rifts in the secretive militant group and exposed an intensifying
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
Amu: The Taliban’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, has deployed forces loyal to him to key strategic locations in Kabul, including the Bala Hissar fortress and Kabul International Airport, according to two sources familiar with the developments. The move, reportedly targeting areas previously under the control of the Haqqani network, highlights the growing rift between Akhundzada’s
Afghanistan International: Three reliable sources told Afghanistan International that they met Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, the Taliban’s deputy foreign minister, in the city of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE). He was supposed to be arrested and hence, left Kabul. Other sources had previously said that Stanekzai was supposed to be tried in a military court.