RASC News Agency: Abbas Stanekzai, the Taliban’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs, has reportedly fled Afghanistan and been sighted in the United Arab Emirates. This comes after Taliban Supreme Leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada issued an arrest order against him. Sources confirm that Stanekzai was seen in Sharjah, UAE. Previous reports indicated that he was slated to stand trial in a military court in Kabul, a move perceived as a direct warning to other Taliban officials who have expressed dissatisfaction with Akhundzada’s decrees particularly his ban on women’s education.
Dissension within the Taliban leadership has been growing, with several senior figures increasingly at odds with Akhundzada’s hardline policies. The Haqqani Network’s leadership and Stanekzai himself have on multiple occasions defied directives issued by the Taliban chief. According to sources, high-ranking Taliban figures including Mullah Baradar, Sirajuddin Haqqani, and Mullah Yaqoob urged Akhundzada to grant Stanekzai clemency. However, the Taliban leader firmly rejected their appeal, insisting that he be imprisoned.vFollowing intense internal negotiations and behind-the-scenes interventions by senior Taliban officials among them Baradar, Haqqani, Yaqoob, and Abdul Haq Wasiq Stanekzai ultimately managed to escape Afghanistan, boarding a flight to the UAE.
Just days before his reported departure, Stanekzai released an audio message claiming he was recovering from COVID-19 while resting at home. However, sources suggest that this statement was merely a cover for his clandestine escape. Stanekzai had previously criticized Akhundzada’s autocratic rule, accusing him of consolidating power and issuing decrees based solely on personal ideology. His remarks drew immediate scrutiny, culminating in the Taliban leadership’s decision to pursue legal action against him.
