Afghanistan International: Michael Kugelman, South Asia Director at the Wilson Center, says the United States is signalling a shift in its approach to the Taliban. He believes the US is now looking to work more closely with Taliban leaders based in Kabul, sidelining the group’s leadership in Kandahar. According to Kugelman, the US has limited
Khaama: Sirajuddin Haqqani, the acting Interior Minister under the Taliban-led administration in Afghanistan, continues to draw international attention as signs of evolving U.S. policy emerge. Sources close to the Haqqani network have told Afghan outlet Tolo News that the reward designations on key figures of the group have been lifted by the U.S. government. According
Afghanistan International: Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban’s Interior Minister, has gone into hiding over fears of assassination, according to Ahmad Zia Saraj, former head of Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS). Saraj told Afghanistan International that Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada suspects Haqqani and several officials of plotting a coup. He believes foreign countries may have backed
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
Amu: Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban’s interior minister, has not returned to Afghanistan more than 40 days after traveling to the United Arab Emirates, sources told Amu TV. Haqqani, who left for the UAE on Jan. 22, remains outside the country as reports of growing tensions within the Taliban leadership continue to emerge. Click here to
Afghanistan International: Mohammad Mohaqiq, leader of the People’s Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan, has stated that internal divisions within the Taliban could lead figures such as Sirajuddin Haqqani and Mullah Baradar to join the Vienna Process. Speaking in an interview with Afghanistan International on Tuesday, Mohaqiq, a participant in the Vienna Process, stressed that if
Afghanistan International: Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban’s Interior Minister, has not returned to Afghanistan for nearly a month, despite earlier claims by the Taliban spokesperson that he had re-entered the country two weeks ago, sources told Afghanistan International on Monday. According to multiple sources, Haqqani remains outside Afghanistan due to his dissatisfaction with the unilateral decisions
Afghanistan International: Before returning to power in Afghanistan, the Taliban signed an agreement with the Pakistani Taliban, al-Qaeda and other foreign fighters. According to the agreement, the Taliban pledged to support foreign fighters in “jihad” and the establishment of a Sharia system in Pakistan after their victory. A source close to the Pakistani Taliban told
8am: The assassination of Khalil-ur-Rahman Haqqani, the Taliban’s Minister of Refugees and Repatriation, signals that the power struggle between Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Supreme Leader of the Taliban, and Sirajuddin Haqqani, the group’s Minister of Interior and the head of the Haqqani Network, has entered a new phase. This phase seems unlikely to be confined
8am: Over the past three years, numerous reports have highlighted tensions between Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban Supreme Leader, and Sirajuddin Haqqani, the group’s Interior Minister. Recently, Hasht-e Subh Daily obtained information indicating that Akhundzada summoned several local Taliban commanders from various provinces and warned them about their loyalty to Haqqani. Akhundzada reportedly told some of