Political commentators and some ex-Taliban commanders have said that Pakistan’s continued support of Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada has had a significant impact on the unity of the Taliban, adding that interference into the affairs of the Taliban by Pakistan’s intelligence agency – Inter Service Intelligence (ISI) – has led to the emergence of more dissident factions within the group.
Referring to recent reports that Pakistan had launched a crackdown against three top Taliban leaders, the commentators said that the detention of the three commanders in Quetta city earlier this week had nothing to do with Haibatullah as the three commanders were not his supporters and did not see him as a credible leader of the Taliban movement.
According to analysts, Pakistan’s recent efforts to reunite the Taliban had not yielded positive outcomes and instead these efforts have expanded the power struggle within the hardline movement.
“This was a politically motivated move by Pakistan. Pakistan wanted to show the foreigners that they act against the Taliban on their demand,” said former Taliban governor Sayed Akbar Agha.
“Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada is a trusted element of Pakistan’s ISI. If anyone opposes Akhundzada’s guideline and refuses his ideology or enters negotiations on his own, Pakistan will act against them,” said a former diplomat to Pakistan Ahmad Saeedi.
In a new development, a dissident Taliban faction led by Mullah Abdul Rassoul has indicated they will consider entering peace negotiations with the Afghan government.
“Mullah Abdul Rassould has shown an interest for negotiations. Then we have to work in this respect and talk with the international community particularly the US and also with Pakistan,” said Mohammad Amin Weqad, member of the Afghan High Peace Council.
“After the successful military operations carried out by the security forces in foiling the Omari operation, the successful conclusion of Brussels Summit, the successful outcome of negotiations with Hizb-e-Islami and the recent political developments in the region, peace supporters in the ranks of Taliban have also expanded,” said Tawab Ghorzang, spokesman for the National Security Advisor.
Earlier this week Pakistani officials announced that at least three senior Taliban leaders , including Ahmadullah Muti, also known as Mullah Nanai who served as Taliban’s designated intelligence chief, Sulaiman Agha, Taliban’s designated governor for Daikundi province and Mullah Sani, also known as Samad Sani, head of a religious school and a well-known Afghan businessman, who have links with the Taliban, have also been taken into custody in Pakistan’s southwestern Baluchistan province.
Pakistani media reported that Mullah Nanai was arrested at a madrassa compound in Quetta city, the provincial capital of Baluchistan.
Mullah Nanai, who is originally a native of southern Kandahar province, has served in some key positions within the group. He worked as deputy head of the Peshawar commission, minister of public works, Balkh governor and Herat governor in the Taliban regime (1996 to 2001).
Previously, Pakistan launched similar crackdowns against a number of influential Taliban leaders in that country, including the dramatic detention of the group’s top commander Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar. However, Pakistan never showed willingness to handover them over to the Afghan government – a move that raised serious questions on Pakistan’s counter-terror policy.
According to reports, Pakistan is faced with increasing pressure from the international community over its controversial role in the war against terrorism.
Bilateral ties between Kabul and Islamabad have also been strained over Pakistan’s reluctance to target Taliban’s hideouts in Pakistan, reports indicate. http://www.tolonews.com/en/afghanistan/27851-taliban-in-a-power-struggle-amid-isi-meddling-analysts
Comments are closed.