The Conflict Within

Afghanistan is mired in ideological differences between hardline Taliban and those with more liberal views

Peshawar: An expected, in fact, an overdue expression of disappointment by one of the most powerful and popular Taliban leaders over the way a number of important matters have been handled in Afghanistan by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) interim government, has kept the propaganda and rumour mills running during the last week.

Speaking at a massive gathering of outgoing students and thousands of people at the convocation ceremony at the Jamia Manba al-Jihad religious seminary in the Khost province of Afghanistan on Saturday, February 11, IEA’s Interim Minister for Interior Affairs Sirajuddin Haqqani criticised the way some decisions of the Taliban leadership were distancing them from the common Afghan people.

“Everyone should clearly listen to this: no one should have the power or authority to violate the people’s rights. This will not be endured for long. Governments will only have longevity if they provide stability and opportunities for a better life for the people. If I and you suppress the people, we can not survive in government for long. The entire world came here with all the resources at their disposal in order to attain stable and long rule in this country, but their cruelty and injustices led to their fall, despite the presence of all their resources,”  said Sirajuddin Haqqani.

A large number of social media users, including many Taliban supporters who wanted their government to adopt a softer stance on various issues, including women’s empowerment and girls’ education, backed the interior minister’s comments. For many Afghans, on social media and in real life, Sirajuddin Haqqani’s speech is welcome, as it is a senior Taliban leader who is openly expressing his views and support for the issues that are hurting the Afghan people. “Common people could relate to his speech as it highlighted their own feelings. People who are not able to talk openly about such issues are encouraged by Sirajuddin Haqqani’s voice, as well as those of a number of other notable Taliban leaders who recently spoke about the same issues in the open,” said a Taliban member of the Interior Ministry in Kabul.

A number of high-profile Taliban leaders, including Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi and Deputy Foreign Minister Sher Muhammad Abbas Stanekzai, recently spoke against one particular issue: the continued ban on girls’ education. While Hanafi was more diplomatic when he urged the leadership to reconsider the fatwa banning girls’ education, Abbas Stanekzai was more forthright as he expressed his views about the ban on girls’ education, backing his stance by citing the teachings of the Shariah, including the permission to disobey the order of an Amir if it was not in line with the Shariah.

Similarly, a few weeks earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and the young Defence Minister, Mullah Muhammad Yaqoob, too had expressed their respective concerns about the harsh handling of some matters. Although the two leaders did not express their views in the open, their frustration was said to have shocked the Taliban supreme leader Sheikh Haibatullah Akhundzada, who was reportedly hitherto unaware of the uneasiness among his trusted subordinates.

However, not everyone took the Interior Minister’s speech in a positive manner. Just like the rumours doing the rounds after Mullah Yaqoob’s speech, including the false claims of a failed coup and the firing of the Defence Minister from his position, some were quick to suggest after Sirajuddin’s speech that the mighty Interior Minister had been fired from his job after his “outrageous criticism of the Ameer.”

The Anti-Taliban social media news handles and users also saw Sirajuddin’s comments as an opportunity to spread fake news as well as create uncertainty in many circles, including among several humanitarian organisations and their workers. Many were quick to talk about severe divisions among different Taliban factions. For instance, they talked about the Haqqani Network led by the Interior Minister himself and his seemingly hardline ideological competitors in the Kandahar group.

Although, neither Sirajuddin Haqqani nor any Taliban leader from Kandahar, Helmand or other southern provinces has ever talked about the existence of any group or factions in the Islamic Emirate, many people outside the country classify the Taliban, mainly from Khost, Paktia and Paktika provinces under the command of Sirajuddin Haqqani as members of the Haqqani Network, while those hailing from Kandahar, Helmand, Nimroz, Zabul and Uruzgan are often referred to as members of the Kandahari group. However, the Afghan Taliban are one united entity,  jelled together by the same ideological and political cause.

Some online news sources even shared news reports of IEA Deputy Minister for Information Zabihullah Mujahid’s press conference in which he allegedly used threatening language, cautioning anyone of criticising the Ameer.

Talking to the media after the venomous propaganda campaign, Zabihullah Mujahid said that his press conference was in no way linked to Sirajuddin’s speech and was taken completely out of context. “My comments were in response to the media sources criticising the IEA rule and its leadership. We have asked them to directly address those they have complaints against. However, even if they talk openly against us, we will hear their allegations and complaints without giving those media persons expressing their views any trouble,” Zahibullah Mujahid told the media.

The IEA spokesperson further negated claims of divisions among the Taliban and said that differences of opinions were needed for a healthy and constructive political environment. “Talk of division in the IEA is not true. There are sometimes differences of opinion, which I believe is important since every Muslim has a moral duty to criticise and highlight issues with regard to the policies of their government. This is, in fact, doing the government a favour. Similarly, Sirajuddin Haqqani has also highlighted the counterproductive practices in the government, of which he is an important part.”

Mujahid added that internal unity under one leader was one of the key strengths of the Taliban and the group constantly faced attempts of sabotaging that unity. “We have faced more difficult times than these. There have been many more efforts to sabotage us and our unity as compared to now. But we stayed United under one ruler, and we can assure everyone that we will remain united. This difference of opinion will not lead to any internal fighting or bloodshed in Afghanistan.”

Nonetheless, some experts firmly believe there are political and ideological divisions in the IEA government. Members of the group who were meeting representatives from the United States and European countries in Doha and elsewhere believe they have a stake in the country’s political decisions and the right to determine to an extent the course of governance, while the Taliban fighting the actual war on the ground in Afghanistan feel they deserve a bigger role in running the politics of the country. Some differences in IEA ranks stem from the differences between the more rigid mindset of the Taliban who have spent their lives in the villages as compared to that of the open-minded Taliban who have lived a greater part of their lives in the cities and have had more opportunities to gain an education.

It is, however, widely believed that the Taliban’s Amir is surrounded by a group of of five senior leaders with an extremely hardline ideological bent, who want the implementation of Shariah law in the country in accordance with how they interpret it.