Key points
- Development signifies a shift in regional dynamics
- Afghanistan navigates delicate transition period
- No official confirmation of resignation yet
ISLAMABAD: Sirajuddin Haqqani, the leader of the Haqqani Network and the Afghan Taliban’s interior minister, has resigned from his position and sent his resignation to Hibatullah Akhundzada, the supreme leader of Afghanistan in the internationally unrecognised Taliban regime.
Afghanistan International reported quoting two “well-informed sources” within the Taliban regime that Haqqani’s resignation has been accepted.
It also reported that the move follows “internal disagreements within the Taliban leadership”, as well as Haqqani’s prolonged absence from public activities.
During his absence, the duties of the interior ministry have been handled by his deputies.
“Rising tensions”
Reports have emerged of rising tensions between the Haqqani Network and the Taliban’s central leadership, particularly over issues related to women’s rights and governance.
Haqqani’s transfer to Khost, considered a stronghold of his network, could signal further divisions within the Taliban ranks.
As of now, the Taliban has not issued any formal statement regarding Haqqani’s resignation or his move.
The situation remains fluid, with further developments anticipated.
Internal divisions
Diplomat Magazine also reported in February 2023 that the internal divisions between the Kandahar group led by Hibatullah Akhundzada and the Haqqani faction headed by Sirajuddin Haqqani have deepened significantly.
On June 5, images of Sirajuddin Haqqani in the United Arab Emirates, meeting and shaking hands with officials from the affluent Gulf nation, ignited fervent speculation and debate.
The magazine reported that Haqqani’s visit to the UAE was aimed at seeking regional support, strengthening his alliances, and freeing himself from the pressures imposed by Hibatullah.
Who is Sirajuddin Haqqani?
Haqqani heads his own group called the Haqqani network, which has been designated a terror outfit by the US for allegedly carrying out several major attacks on foreign and Afghan forces during the 20-year-long war in Afghanistan.
However, the Taliban insist that there is no separate faction within the group.
Haqqani is wanted by America’s Federal Bureau of Investigation for questioning, with the US offering a reward of $10 million for information leading to his arrest.
He is the son of Mujahideen leader Jalauddin Haqqani, who fought against the erstwhile Soviet Union in the 1980s. The senior Haqqani later joined the Taliban and served as minister in the previous Taliban government, according to Dawn.
As the deputy chief of the Afghan Taliban, Sirajuddin Haqqani is called “khalifa” by the Afghan Taliban and its affiliated militants.
During his time as interior minister, Haqqani met a UN envoy in 2021 to try to head off a humanitarian crisis.
The meeting between Deborah Lyons, head of the UN mission in Afghanistan, and Sirajuddin Haqqani focused on humanitarian assistance, Suhail Shaheen, a Taliban spokesman, had said in a statement on Twitter. “[Haqqani] stressed that UN personnel can conduct their work without any hurdle and deliver vital aid to the Afghan people,” he said.
Assassination fears
On Wednesday, former head of Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security Ahmad Zia Saraj told Afghanistan International that Sirajuddin Haqqani has gone into hiding over fears of assassination.
However, on Friday, Taliban members released a video showing Haqqani attending Friday prayers at a mosque in Nadir Shah Kot district, Khost province.
The footage, shared on Friday, comes after Haqqani was absent from his Kabul office for around 52 days.
Saraj told Afghanistan International that Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada suspects Haqqani and several officials of plotting a coup. He believes foreign countries may have backed the alleged plot.
Minister flees
Last month, Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, a senior Taliban minister who expressed support for reversing the ban on girls’ education in Afghanistan, was allegedly forced to flee the country to UAE, according to the Guardian.
Speaking at a graduation ceremony in Khost province, near the Afghan-Pakistani border, on 20 January, Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the Taliban’s deputy foreign minister, criticised the government’s ban on girls attending secondary schools and higher education.
“There is no excuse for this – not now and not in the future,” Stanikzai said. “We are being unjust to 20 million people.
“During the time of the prophet Muhammad, the doors of knowledge were open for both men and women,” he said. “There were such remarkable women that if I were to elaborate on their contributions, it would take a considerable amount of time.”
After this speech, and reports of Stanikzai criticising him, the Taliban’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, allegedly ordered the minister’s arrest and issued a travel ban, which pushed Stanikzai to leave Afghanistan for the United Arab Emirates, the Guardian reported.
