KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — The southern city of Kandahar is set to host a high-level Taliban meeting in the coming days, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s deputy chief minister for economic affairs, along with several other senior Taliban officials, arrived in Kandahar on Wednesday, January 30, the sources said.
Kandahar, widely regarded as the Taliban’s power base, serves as the residence of the group’s reclusive leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada. Over the past three years, the city has been the venue for key Taliban cabinet meetings and internal political discussions.
This comes at a time of increasing international pressure on the Taliban. The potential return of former U.S. President Donald Trump to the White House has heightened uncertainty for the group. Meanwhile, a senior prosecutor at the International Criminal Court has petitioned for arrest warrants for Akhundzada and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, the Taliban’s chief justice.
Taliban officials have not publicly commented on the agenda of the meeting or the issues to be discussed.
