Taliban Power Struggle Between Kandahar and Kabul Deepens

Islamabad (GNP): Deepening differences between Afghanistan’s Taliban leadership based in Kandahar and powerful officials in Kabul are raising fresh questions about the movement’s internal unity, as disagreements over governance, foreign relations and the concentration of power continue to surface.

At the centre of the dispute is Supreme Leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, who has consolidated authority around his base in Kandahar, positioned against a group of influential Taliban officials in the capital who favour a more pragmatic approach to governing the country and engaging with the outside world.

The rivalry has sharpened around Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, with recent intelligence assessments alleging that Akhundzada’s faction is considering action against him over his opposition to certain Kandahar-driven policies.

According to those assessments, Haqqani became aware of the possibility and warned that any move to arrest him could carry serious consequences for the Taliban leadership as a whole. Senior figures including intelligence chief Abdul Haq Wasiq, Mullah Taj Mir Jawad and Sadr Ibrahim have reportedly expressed concern that an open confrontation could destabilise the Taliban government.

This tension reflects a broader divide that has developed since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021. Akhundzada has largely remained in Kandahar even as Kabul serves as the seat of government, with the Kandahar camp favouring a strict interpretation of Islamic law and increasingly centralised authority under the Supreme Leader.

The Kabul-based group, which includes Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Ghani Baradar, Haqqani and Defence Minister Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid, is not considered moderate but is generally seen as more pragmatic on economic policy, international engagement and aspects of social policy.

The concentration of power in Kandahar has become a recurring source of friction. Akhundzada has strengthened his position by placing trusted loyalists in key security, religious and government institutions, and several Kabul-based officials have complained that major decisions are being made without sufficient consultation with government ministers.

The issue has grown particularly sensitive around restrictions on women and girls, the Taliban’s engagement with foreign governments and the administration of the economy, with a United Nations monitoring assessment previously noting Akhundzada’s growing control over security structures centred on Kandahar.

The divide has also become visible through disputes over communications and technology. Akhundzada has long taken a restrictive stance on smartphones and internet use, and restrictions on mobile-phone use in government offices, along with warnings against extensive use of WhatsApp, have added to friction among officials who argue that modern communications are essential to running the state.

Moreover, For the Kabul camp, excessive restrictions risk weakening government efficiency and further isolating Afghanistan, while Akhundzada’s supporters regard tighter controls as necessary for maintaining religious and ideological discipline within the Islamic Emirate.

Haqqani’s position within this dispute is particularly delicate. The Haqqani network has long been one of the Taliban’s most powerful military factions, and Haqqani has served as interior minister since the Taliban took power. His public criticism of aspects of the leadership has fuelled speculation about tensions with Akhundzada, even as he has stressed the importance of preserving Taliban unity and avoiding an internal confrontation that could destabilise Afghanistan.

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Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has repeatedly rejected suggestions of a serious internal split, describing the differences among officials as disagreements within a family rather than evidence of a genuine rift.

Whether the current tensions translate into any meaningful shift in Taliban policy remains uncertain. The rule of the Taliban has been marked by severe restrictions on girls’ education, women’s employment and public participation, and the growing rivalry between Kandahar’s hard-line leadership and Kabul-based officials raises questions over whether internal disagreements will produce real change or simply become another contest over control of the movement’s machinery of power.

The central question facing Afghanistan is not only whether the Taliban can preserve its unity, but whether its leadership will address the mounting costs of policies that continue to deny millions of Afghans, particularly women and girls, access to education, employment and public life.