RASC News Agency: On Friday, Taliban members released a video showing Sirajuddin Haqqani, the group’s Minister of Interior, attending Friday prayers at a mosque in the Nader Shah Kot district of Khost province. The footage marks Haqqani’s first public appearance in nearly 52 days, during which he had been conspicuously absent from his office in Kabul, fueling speculation about his whereabouts and political standing. His reappearance comes just a day after a high-level security meeting in Kandahar, which was notably held without his presence. The meeting was led by Mullah Yaqoob, the Taliban’s Minister of Defense, while Ibrahim Sadr, the Deputy Minister of Interior for Security Affairs, attended in Haqqani’s stead an absence that has further intensified speculation about internal rifts within the Taliban’s leadership.
In Haqqani’s absence, Taliban Supreme Leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada has taken unilateral steps to reshape the provincial leadership, appointing several new governors and police commanders. On February 25, Akhundzada formally installed Samiullah Hezbollah as the governor of Takhar, replacing Ubaidullah Aminzada. Hezbollah, previously the police chief of Kandahar, is a Tajik Taliban figure from Badakhshan who now appears to have been sidelined a move that has not gone unnoticed within the factional landscape of the Taliban. The reshuffling of power in the northern provinces extends beyond Takhar. In another significant decision, Akhundzada appointed Mullah Nik Mohammad Malang as the new police commander of Badakhshan, signaling further shifts in the group’s internal hierarchy.
The latest developments underscore the escalating tensions between the Kandahari Taliban leadership and the Haqqani network. While tribal rivalries particularly between the Durrani and Ghilzai factions have long shaped the Taliban’s internal power struggles, the current divisions run even deeper, reflecting profound ideological and strategic differences within the movement’s ranks. As the Taliban leadership continues to consolidate its authority, Haqqani’s prolonged absence and the subsequent restructuring of key provincial posts suggest that internal power struggles are far from over.
