KABUL — The Taliban’s Central Security and Clearance Commission, led by Taliban Defense Minister Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid, on Friday held a meeting in Kandahar, their stronghold, to discuss border security and counter-narcotics measures, according to a statement by the commission.
The commission stated that key Taliban officials, including Ibrahim Sadr, Taliban deputy interior minister for security; Nazeer Ahmad Nasir, a representative from the office of the Taliban’s supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada; and Mullah Shirin, the Taliban governor of Kandahar, participated in the meeting.
The meeting comes amid ongoing reports of internal divisions within the Taliban leadership, particularly between the Kandahar faction and the Haqqani network. Notably absent was Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, whose deputy, Ibrahim Sadr, attended in his place.
A source previously confirmed to Amu that several high-ranking Taliban officials had traveled to Kandahar for discussions with Akhundzada. Haqqani, who has not appeared in public for over a month, was last reported to have met the Taliban leader in Kandahar four months ago, according to a recent UN report.
