In statements that aroused the indignation of figures within the movement, the Minister of Higher Education in the Taliban government in Afghanistan, Nada Muhammad Nadeem, considered that anyone who opposes the government should be killed.
On Sunday, he said, “Those who destabilize the regime with words, pens, or deeds must be killed.”
Splits within the movement
This comes as it appears that the splits within the Taliban movement started in full swing.
Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Minister of Interior in the Taliban government, which has been in control of Afghanistan since last summer, has begun to lead an internal movement with some prominent leaders within the movement to establish a Shura Council for Governance, which takes its decisions away from the monopoly of power by the leader of the movement, Hebatullah Akhundzadeh, according to what she confirmed. Sources for Al-Arabiya/Al-Hadath on February 18.
The sources added that the majority of the leaders are resentful of the Taliban leader’s failure to respond to them and his refusal to meet with them, or even to address them.
She also indicated that despite their attempts to dissuade him from some decisions, Akhundzadeh refuses to back down or back down from them.
Co-opting the Minister of Defense
In addition, the sources revealed that Haqqani was able to win over Defense Minister Muhammad Yaqoub, son of the founder of the movement, Mullah Omar, and persuade him to consult with the leaders in order to work seriously on forming a Shura Council for governance.
It also pointed out that Haqqani and Yaqoub refused to change the leadership militarily, and adhered to the peaceful approach in changing the behavior of the “leader”.
A Taliban member in Kabul (archive from Reuters)
girls education
As for the issue of preventing girls from education, which sparked an internal and international uproar, the sources denied the recent rumors that indicated an expected decision to return girls to schools and universities during the spring semester.
She explained that some ministers in the Taliban government sent a letter to Hebatullah, asking him to reconsider the ban on girls’ education and women’s work.
However, he answered them with one sentence: “If you can prove that Islam allows girls over the age of 12 to leave the house, then I will allow girls to study and work.”
It is only the beginning
In addition, the sources added that Haqqani told the leaders that his recent statements about the monopoly of power are only the beginning of the rejection of the decisions issued by Kandahar and create a big gap between the government and the international community, which prevents the Taliban from obtaining international recognition.
Haqqani stressed that if a decision on education is not issued at the start of the school year in March, and stops Hebatullah’s interference in appointments and dismissals in ministerial and military positions, in addition to forming a Shura Council for governance, he will not hesitate to openly criticize the leader of the movement and the leaders close to him in Kandahar.
A Taliban member in a street in Kabul (archives from France Press)
He also stressed that he would then seek to clear himself and the leaders allied with him in the internal bloc before the Afghan people and the international community of the decisions that cause a rift between the government and the Afghan people, and to declare clearly that the decisions are issued by the leader alone, and that he has disrupted the Shura system.
Soon she was back to hardening
It is noteworthy that despite the Taliban’s pledge, after its return to power in August 2021, to show greater flexibility on some issues, including women’s education, it soon returned to the extremism that characterized its rule between 1996 and 2001.
It has gradually excluded women from public life and excluded them from jobs, after giving them pittance wages to urge them to stay at home. Last November, women were banned from parks, gardens, gyms and public swimming pools.
It also prohibited them from roaming the streets without the escort of a male relative or Mahram, under penalty of persecution.
