Taliban Divided: Interior Min says Afghanistan in “intolerable” state, spokesperson rebuts

Kabul: Have cracks appeared in the top echelons of the Taliban leadership in Afghanistan? At least, acting Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani is suggesting so as he went on to describe the country’s situation as “intolerable”. All eyes are now on Haqqani as his comment stoked contrasting views within the Taliban, political experts noted. “The current situation is intolerable. If the public situation becomes worse and unstable, it is our responsibility to bring them closer to us,” Haqqani said. Haqqani’s comments came amid an ongoing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan following the Taliban’s takeover in 2021. Last year in December, the hard-line group banned university education for women in Afghanistan, apart from other obscurantist moves to curb natural freedoms of the people. It also barred women from jobs at domestic and foreign NGOs. Responding to Haqqani’s comments Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said such statements by a senior leader or official should be made in private. ‘Taliban divided into two factions’ A political science professor at Salam University in Kabul said that the Taliban is divided into two groups. One faction represents the minority but consists of members who hold important positions in Afghanistan and “imposing their own narrow narrative from Islam,” Hamza Momain Hakimi told Arab News. The other faction comprises of people who don’t care much about minority opinion and issues like the state of women in the country. Haqqani’s comments have highlighted the issues that persist in Afghanistan, says another political expert named Mohibullah Sharif. “Those are words and meanings that express what the Afghan people want. There is no doubt that there was a clear difference in the Islamic and political view of the leaders of the Taliban movement and currently among the leading personalities of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” Sharif said. He added, “The Afghan people want these differences between the leading personalities to end easily and safely because the problems between them will lead to a serious conflict in the country and Afghanistan will return to the civil war that occurred in the 90s.” Division hinting at an internal war? Sayed Baheir Sadat, an expert based in Germany said that the emerging differences within the Taliban leadership could potentially become a big problem for the group. This could again signal the risk of an internal war between Afghans,” he said. Sadat added, “If the Taliban want to take over the government and the people, they should engage with internal and international standards, so that they may have the world’s support.” Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.