Last Updated:
Sources have said that Akhundzada’s biggest concern is that Haqqani is not working for Afghanistan but his own vested interests.
Sirajuddin Haqqani (left) and Hibatullah Akhundzada (right). (Image: PTI/Wikimedia)
The Kandahar group under Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada wants to remove Sirajuddin Haqqani from the control of Afghanistan, top sources have told CNN-News18. Sources have said that Akhundzada’s biggest concern is that Haqqani is not working for Afghanistan but his own vested interests.
According to sources, Sirajuddin Haqqani was communicated through Kandahar that he is under obligation to fully obey them. Kandahar also wanted Haqqani to be low profile and implement Sharia, sources said.
Sources added that they also instructed him not to be in the media and not to broadcast or publish videos or pictures. Sources said that Kandahar made it clear to Haqqani that if he doesn’t obey them, then he must resign.
Haqqani hails from the Zadran tribe and they have ten districts along the Durand line. Haqqani appoints officials for those ten districts. However, recently, the Kandahar group did not allow the Haqqani faction to appoint and evicted them from their own hometown, sources said.
Following this, Haqqani visited his native place and inaugurated a mosque in the name of a suicide bomber, Hayatullah. This was a signal to Taliban chief Hibatullah Akhundzada that whatever has been achieved was because they were together and the ground worker cannot be forgotten.
Here, during his inauguration speech, Haqqani spoke about hundreds of suicide attacks under his command.
According to sources, Hibatullah Akhundzada also got upset after Haqqani’s interview to media including CNN-News18 and took the locks and keys authority of ammunition and arms depot from him.
In the latest Kandahar cabinet meeting, a scuffle between Hibatullah Akhundzada and Sirajuddin Haqqani was also reported on the issue of NGOs, which is seen as a major economic base for the Afghan government. According to sources, there are 2,700 Afghan NGOs and 278 foreign NGOs and all together, they employ 80,000 Afghan people vetted by Taliban, mainly by Haqqani faction.
Akhundzada sees this as an economic base for Haqqani and not for the country. Akhundzada also sees this as a threat that foreign countries are empowering Haqqani in the name of foreign NGOs and have routed money.
In the middle of this tension, they have attacked Khalil Haqqani, who was the mentor and brain behind Siraj Haqqani.
ISKP Bribed to Claim Responsibility for Saifullah Killing: Sources
Meanwhile, according to sources close to Amrullah Saleh, President in Exile, after four-five months of Kabul’s fall, Akhundzada moved the headquarters of suicide bombers from Kabul to Kandahar and since then, he has been directly controlling and preaching them.
This clearly suggests it was an attempt to move control of suicide brigade and suicide academy from Haqqani to Kandahar under Akhundzada, sources said.
Earlier, the Baghlan Police Chief and Taliban commander Saifullah was killed in Badakhshan and ISKP claimed responsibility, but it was speculated that he was killed by an insider and ISKP was bribed to claim responsibility, sources close to Amrullah Saleh said.