RASC News Agency: Following recent reshuffles within the Taliban’s government, speculation has arisen among the residents of Bamyan that Mullah Abdullah Sarhadi, the current governor of Bamyan, is set to be transferred. However, reports suggest that Sarhadi is making efforts to prevent the execution of this decision. Sarhadi, a close associate of the Taliban leader, has served as the governor of Bamyan for the past three years. During this time, he has successfully removed opponents most of whom were linked to the Haqqani Network either by transferring them to other provinces or having them dismissed.
Among those transferred or removed for opposing Sarhadi are Mullah Mehdi Mujahid, Qari Bilal Hashimi, and Mohammad Ibrahim Taib, former heads of Taliban intelligence in Bamiyan; Mullah Sediqullah Shahin Musafir, Taliban police chief for Bamiyan; Mullah Maqbool Ahmad Waqas, head of the Amr bil Maruf (Vice and Virtue) department; Mullah Gulabuddin Zabiullah, head of agriculture; Mullah Osman and Rahmatullah Qandali, former directors of education; Mullah Abdulhadi Forotan, mayor; Saifurrahman Mohammadi, former director of information and culture; and Qari Musa Nasrat, deputy commander of the Taliban’s 4th Military Brigade in Bamyan.
It is reported that in mid-2023, following complaints from local Bamyan Taliban members aligned with the Haqqani Network, the Taliban’s Ministry of Interior had decided to transfer Sarhadi. However, Sarhadi sent several influential figures from Bamyan, including his supporters such as Sheikh Nazir Hussain Jafari, former Taliban education director in Bamyan, to Kabul to create the impression that no one but Sarhadi could govern Bamyan, and that his removal would lead to ethnic conflicts or the rise of resistance groups against the Taliban.
This time, however, it appears that Sarhadi has lost the support of his previous allies. According to sources, Sarhadi has now taken Mullah Ziaullah Khadem, head of rural development, and Mullah Raouf Rouhani, deputy director of Taliban intelligence in Bamyan, to Kabul in an attempt to lobby senior Taliban officials and block his transfer once again. Some residents of Bamyan expressed their discontent, stating, “The true face of Sarhadi has been revealed to the people of Bamyan; he is a hypocrite, mafia figure, and thief. Contrary to the orders of the Taliban leader, Sarhadi has appointed his two brothers to high-ranking positions in the province, and they are extorting and plundering the people and taking bribes from local businesses and organizations.”
A source from Taliban intelligence in Bamyan reported that Sarhadi transfers 2 million Kabuli rupees out of the province each month through money exchangers. This activity was under investigation by intelligence when Mohammad Ibrahim Taib was in charge, but soon after the investigation began, Taib was dismissed from his position and sidelined. According to Bamyan residents, they have never faced a more corrupt government than the Taliban’s, nor have they experienced a governor as corrupt as Mullah Sarhadi in Bamiyan.
