Taliban leader’s warning about internal divisions suggests growing rifts within the orthodox regime controlling most of Afghanistan.
Taliban Leader’s Warning
“They will raise issues, causing disputes in the government. They will turn people against each other: one will criticize the other. The system will weaken, and divisions will grow. As a result of these divisions, the emirate will be destroyed. But if unity is maintained, and the distance between the government and the scholars is eliminated, if those who want to cause divisions are stopped, and the gap between the government and the people is closed, if those trying to create these gaps are eliminated – unity will be maintained,” thundered Taliban leader Hibatullah Achundzada in a recording from January of last year, which was published by BBC.
Significance of the Warning
The rant of the Afghan militant leaders, who have controlled the vast majority of the country for several years, could be dismissed as the traditional lament of an autocrat living in a real or imagined besieged fortress. But according to the British broadcaster – and many experts – they mean much more: divisions are emerging within the orthodox regime.
