Taliban sources told the British broadcaster’s Pashto service that the Taliban’s co-founder and interim deputy prime minister, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, and a cabinet member exchanged bitter words at the presidential palace.
It is believed that after the disappearance of Mullah Baradar in recent days, speculations had started that differences had arisen in the organization, but the Taliban denied him.
A Taliban source told the British Broadcasting Corporation that bitter words were exchanged between Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Baradar and Minister for Refugees Khalil-ur-Rehman Haqqani, who is also a leading leader of the Haqqani Network. At the same time, the two leaders in the presidential palace Followers also repeated to each other.
A member of the Taliban’s political office in Qatar and a close associate of one of the leaders involved in the dispute confirmed that the clash took place last week.
Sources say the debate began over the structure of the Taliban’s new government because Mullah Baradar was not happy with the structure of the interim government.
The dispute is said to be part of a split in the Taliban’s credit for Afghanistan’s victory.
Mullah Baradar reportedly believes that the Taliban’s victory should be attributed to the diplomacy of such leaders. In contrast, senior members of the Haqqani network believe that the Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan was achieved through fighting.
Mullah Baradar is the first Taliban leader to speak directly to former US President Donald Trump. He spoke to Trump by telephone in 2020 and had earlier signed an agreement on US withdrawal from Afghanistan on behalf of the Taliban.
On the other hand, the Haqqani Network has been involved in deadly attacks on Afghan and foreign forces inside Afghanistan in recent years, and the United States has designated the group a terrorist organization.
Sirajuddin Haqqani, head of the Haqqani Network, is an interior minister in the Taliban’s interim government.
News of the rift between the Taliban leaders began to surface last week when Mullah Baradar suddenly disappeared from the scene. Rumors were circulating that he may have been killed, but the Taliban denied this.
Taliban sources said that Mullah Baradar had left Kabul for Kandahar after the altercation. Then yesterday, Mullah Baradar released an alleged audio message in which he said that he was on a foreign tour and was fine wherever he was.
Independent sources could not verify this audio message. The Taliban insisted that there was no altercation and that Mullah Baradar was safe, but the Taliban could not give a definite answer as to what they were doing.
A Taliban spokesman said Mullah Baradar had gone to Kandahar to meet the Taliban’s top leader but later told BBC Pashto that he was exhausted and wanted to rest.
Earlier in 2015, the Taliban kept the death of its founding leader Mullah Omar secret for almost two years and kept sending messages in his name.
Sources say that Mullah Baradar will soon come in front of the camera to end these speculations.
On the other hand, there are many hot rumors about the supreme leader of the Taliban, Hebatullah Akhundzada, which never came to light. He heads the Taliban’s political, military, and religious affairs.
