In a move reflecting ongoing internal strife, Fazl‑Bari Fazli, the Taliban’s head of the Kandahar Agriculture Department, was removed from his post amid a reshuffle of Taliban’s senior provincial officials. Two sources, including a Taliban insider, confirmed to Amu that the dismissal was tied to a clash between Fazli and Shams‑ur‑Rahman Musa, the Taliban’s agricultural affairs director for the province.
According to one official, the dispute escalated after Fazli blocked Musa’s attempt to cultivate approximately 1,500 jeribs (roughly 300 hectares) of state-owned land in the Nawrazi area of Panjwai District, instead allocating the land to oilseed cultivation.
Although neither Taliban spokesmen nor the two officials involved have publicly commented, the changes were confirmed in an official list of four senior appointments and reassignments released by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.
Among the new appointments: the Taliban’s former head of Kandahar’s intelligence in Kunduz, Abdul Rashid Moinib, has been reassigned to lead Kandahar’s Agriculture Department. Similarly, Haji Kaka Siyakha, previously Taliban governor of Qala‑i‑Naw district in Badghis, has been promoted to Taliban deputy governor of Badghis. In a related swap, Rahimullah Mahmud, Taliban’s former district governor in Boldak, has been appointed their deputy governor of Farah, while Taliban’s former deputy governor in Farah, Abdul Karim Jehadiyar, assumes leadership of Boldak district.
Rights activists have expressed concern that the Taliban’s all-male governance structure, in power for more than three years, continues to prioritize loyalty over expertise. They warn that reshuffles like these shut out qualified, educated youths from public office, further entrenching elite patronage.
“Taliban insist they have an inclusive cabinet,” said human rights advocate Mohammad Alam Hikmat. “But repeated reshuffles among their ranks only deepen exclusion and deplete opportunity for a broader Afghan society.”
