Amu: Local sources confirmed on Thursday that tensions among local Taliban commanders have flared in the northeastern province of Badakhshan where similar rifts were also reported previously. The new round of such rifts emerged in Jurm after efforts by senior Taliban commanders to detain a fellow commander of Tajik ethnicity was failed, sources said. The
Amu: According to sources, the move, which has not been publicly announced by the Taliban administration, sidelines the Taliban-run Ministry of Finance and centralizes decision-making in the leader’s stronghold in southern Afghanistan. Sources familiar with internal operations said Akhundzada has established a financial office in Kandahar through which he oversees national budgetary and revenue matters.
Amu: Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has continued reshuffling Taliban’s senior police commanders in a move that further sidelines Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban’s acting interior minister..In the latest changes, Akhundzada reassigned the Taliban’s police chiefs of Bamiyan and Samangan provinces, transferring each to the other’s post. These appointments, although officially under Haqqani’s purview, were made directly
Amu: Taliban leader has dismissed Abbas Stanikzai, the Taliban’s deputy foreign minister for political affairs, following rare public criticism of Hibatullah Akhundzada, according to multiple sources in Kabul and Kandahar. The removal was reportedly ordered directly by Akhundzada with sources citing “incompetence” and waning popularity as the reasons behind the decision. Stanikzai came under internal
Afghanistan International: In response to the rising unrest, Taliban officials including the Minister of Defence, Mullah Yaqub Mujahid; the Minister of Interior, Sirajuddin Haqqani; and the head of the intelligence directorate, Abdul Haq Wasiq, reportedly travelled to Kandahar. According to informed sources, the senior leaders met with Hibatullah Akhundzada to express their concerns about the
Afghanistan International: According to the sources, Haqqani’s attendance at the meeting was made possible through the mediation of Defence Minister Mohammad Yaqub Mujahid and Taliban intelligence chief Abdulhaq Wasiq. The Taliban leader reportedly rejected a proposal from Haqqani to establish a new appointments commission. Click here to read more (external link).
Afghanistan International: A retired Pakistani army general, Inam-ul-Haq, has revealed deepening tensions within the Taliban, spotlighting a rift between the Haqqani Network and the Kandahar faction, in an Express Tribune article. He outlined how disputes over the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), girls’ education bans, Pakistan relations, and governance are driving the divide. Click here to read
Amu: Nineteen days after reappearing publicly at a mosque in Khost following a 52-day absence, Sirajuddin Haqqani, the acting interior minister of the Taliban, has yet to be seen at the ministry or participate in official events, raising fresh questions about his status and role within the Taliban hierarchy. No photographs or statements have emerged
Amu: Hibatullah Akhundzada, the reclusive supreme leader of the Taliban, warned during Eid al-Fitr prayers in Kandahar that disobedience to his orders could lead to the collapse of Taliban rule and plunge Afghanistan back into civil war. In an audio message obtained by Amu and attributed to Hibatullah, he described obedience to Taliban leadership as
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