Afghanistan: With Baradar’s return, Kabul may witness Taliban’s factional war
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Afghanistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, who crafted the Taliban deal for the withdrawal of US-led forces, returned to Kabul on Wednesday, with the Afghan Pashtun fighters replacing his personal security and rejecting the one provided by the rival Haqqani Network component of the Islamist militia.
This has sparked off speculation that the Afghan Pashtuns could clash with the Pakistan-headquartered Haqqani faction, supported by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), which is trying to take control of the Taliban.
Soon after returning to the capital, the top Taliban leader assumed his duties, media reported on Wednesday.
Upon his return to Kabul, Mullah Baradar refused to take official security from the Interior Ministry, headed by Sirajuddin Haqqani of the Haqqani Network.
His move to bring his own independent security detail is seen as a result of a recent fight with the Haqqani faction in Kabul, in which he was reportedly injured. Amid widespread rumors about his death, Baradar and the Taliban issued audio statements saying the insurgent group’s co-founder was in good health. He was believed to have been hospitalized after the clash and then recuperated in Kandahar, the base of the Taliban.
While the Haqqanis insisted he take official security from the Interior Ministry, Baradar, deeply suspicious of the faction’s motives, rejected it.
Afghanistan’s new Defence Minister Mullah Yaqoob, the son of Taliban founder Mullah Omar, is still camping in Kandahar.
