A rare public show of division within the ranks of Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban emerged in recent days when Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, a powerful government figure, gave a speech seen as implicit criticism of the movement’s reclusive supreme leader.
The Taliban leadership has been opaque since the former insurgents’ takeover of the country in August 2021, with almost no indication of how decisions are made.
Haqqani made his comments in a speech over the weekend to a graduation ceremony at an Islamic religious school in the eastern province of Khost. Zabihullah Mujahed, the top spokesman for the Kabul government, said in an apparent reaction to Haqqani’s comments - without naming him - that criticism is best voiced privately.
The Taliban have typically dealt with internal differences behind the scenes, and Haqqani’s comments “are a major escalation,” said Michael Kugelman, the deputy director of the Asia program and senior associate for South Asia at the Wilson Center. The Taliban leaders have the same broad vision, but “in Kandahar, they’re hermits, they’re not involved in the day-to-day,” said Kugelman. In Kabul, they have to govern and provide services, he added.
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