RASC News Agency: In a recent report, the Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta issued a stark warning that the Kremlin’s decision to formally recognize the Taliban’s regime has sparked profound dissent and intensified existing fault lines within the insurgent group and among its extremist allies. This move risks triggering a severe internal crisis that could irreparably weaken the Taliban’s fragile cohesion and empower resistance factions aiming to overturn their rule. Despite Russia’s Supreme Court lifting the suspension on Taliban activities in April, the group remains officially designated as a “terrorist organization” on Russia’s legal registry a glaring contradiction fueling distrust and suspicion among Taliban commanders and affiliated Al-Qaeda militants. According to informed sources, rampant rumors circulate among lower-tier Taliban fighters and Al-Qaeda affiliates accusing the group’s leadership of having “sold out the jihad” in exchange for political expediency with Moscow.
In an apparent attempt to quell these mounting tensions and preserve unity, Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban’s Interior Minister and notorious leader of the Haqqani Network, reportedly engaged in confidential talks with Hamza bin Laden son of Osama bin Laden and current Al-Qaeda emir in the insurgent-held Panjshir Valley, a historical stronghold of resistance. Nezavisimaya Gazeta likens the Taliban’s internal power structure to a rigid pyramid, with approximately 30 elite families dominating the apex. These privileged clans have historically reaped disproportionate economic and political gains from decades of jihad and insurgency, while thousands of rank-and-file fighters at the base endure chronic poverty, insecurity, and neglect.
A critical source of grievance among ordinary Taliban foot soldiers is the looming loss of covert financial inflows from the United States funds that, while unofficial and opaque, have long underpinned the group’s operational capacity and patronage networks. Analysts warn that the sudden deprivation of this lifeline could ignite widespread dissent within Taliban ranks, destabilizing an already fragile organization. Experts further contend that any fissures or internecine conflicts within the Taliban will create a rare strategic opening for Afghanistan’s disparate resistance groups to regroup, rearm, and recalibrate their political influence potentially catalyzing a dramatic realignment in Afghanistan’s volatile power landscape.
This emerging internal discord underscores the Taliban’s inability to establish a unified, legitimate governance framework, revealing the deep fissures within the group’s ranks and exposing its reliance on external patronage, coercion, and repression to maintain control over Afghanistan’s shattered society.
