Sirajuddin Haqqani

Nikkei: Possible signs of friction in Afghanistan’s Taliban leadership have forced the group to deny a rift at the top. While experts are not counting on mutiny, some say key leaders’ unusually public criticism of the war-torn country’s direction marks a significant change for the Islamist group. Last month, the Taliban’s interior minister, Sirajuddin Haqqani, spoke at a graduation ceremony at an Islamic school in Khost province and expressed discontent. “Monopolizing power and damaging the reputation of the whole system [of government] is not in our interest,” Haqqani said in the recorded address, which went viral online. Click here to read more (external link).