In a March meeting with the Taliban’s leader in Kandahar, Taliban Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani criticized the curtailing of his authority and denounced Hibatullah’s hardline policies, warning that senior Taliban leaders may break away if the current trajectory continues.
In the private meeting, held last month with mediation from Taliban Defense Minister Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid and their intelligence chief Abdulhaq Wasiq, Haqqani is said to have directly criticized Akhundzada’s increasingly hardline policies and the consolidation of power within a small circle of loyalists.
According to individuals briefed on the exchange, Haqqani warned that if the current trajectory continues, “many leaders will choose a different path,” signaling a rare and direct challenge to Akhundzada’s authority.
The meeting, sources said, was the culmination of months of simmering discontent among certain factions within the Taliban over their direction since returning to power in August 2021.
Haqqani is said to have voiced concern that Akhundzada’s policies are alienating ordinary Afghans, shrinking the group’s popular support and isolating Afghanistan further from the international community. He also criticized the transfer of key responsibilities within the Interior Ministry to Sadr Ibrahim, a close associate of Akhundzada, calling it a deliberate move to sideline him.
In response, Akhundzada reportedly defended the decision, saying that both Sadr Ibrahim and Mohammad Nabi Omari have been delegated similar powers and are authorized to oversee ministry affairs in Haqqani’s absence. He also reiterated his refusal to comply with demands from Western nations and insisted that Taliban officials must fulfill their duties independently and without compromise.
Despite the attempted mediation, sources said Haqqani has yet to return to his post at the Interior Ministry following the meeting.
In what appears to be an effort to mend ties, Akhundzada is said to be weighing possible concessions — including replacing Taliban deputy chief minister Abdul Kabir or appointing a member of the Haqqani family to lead the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations. Sources said, however, that no final decision has been made and the identity of the potential appointee remains unclear.
According to sources, in March, Akhundzada dispatched Mullah Shirin Akhund, the Taliban governor of Kandahar, to the United Arab Emirates in a bid to reconcile with Haqqani, who had left the country amid the political tensions. The two met in what sources described as a “neutral setting,” during which Haqqani simply said he was “on his way back to the country.”
During the visit, Mullah Shirin is said to have urged Haqqani to reaffirm his loyalty to the leadership and resume his official duties. He also reportedly asked Haqqani to persuade Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, another prominent Taliban figure and their deputy foreign minister currently abroad, to return to Afghanistan.
But according to the sources, the effort yielded no tangible results, and Mullah Shirin returned empty-handed.
