According to the UK-based journal The Spectator, a power battle inside the Taliban has severely harmed two important figures: deputy prime minister Mullah Baradar and the group's spiritual leader Haibatullah Akhundzada. It highlighted a recent confrontation between the Baradar group and the Haqqani network during government formation discussions to claim that the former was the "primary loser." Furniture and thermos flasks full of hot green were tossed around during clashes in early September, according to the report. During the meeting, Khalil-ul-Rahmanhaqqani, the commander of the Haqqani network, stood from his seat and began hitting Baradar, according to the report. Haibatullah Akhundzada is dead as per the information.
After the fighting, he was missing for a time until reappearing in Kandahar. He spoke with tribal elders who back him, but he was also forced to broadcast a video message on the Taliban-controlled state-run television network. According to accounts, the communication "appeared like a hostage video." Around 2016, the Taliban and the Haqqani organisations united. Baradar and those participating in the Doha negotiations tried to portray the Taliban as moderates, but the Haqqanis have applauded suicide strikes. Afghanistan's minister of refugees, Khalil Haqqani, is on the UN's sanctions list and has been linked to military activities in the country.   Baradar had advocated for a more "inclusive" government that included non-Taliban leaders and ethnic minorities, which the rest of the world would accept.

The chief of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) also backed the Haqqanis, ensuring that Pakistani supporters, primarily from the hardline Haqqani network, were given all critical positions. The Haqqanis, who take their name from the Darul Uloom Haqqania madrassa in Islamabad, are firmly embedded in Pakistan's security system.

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Taliban

Kailas Ashwin Sathish

21/09/2021 11:00 AM