The Panjshir Taliban have changed their political qibla* and moved from "Amir al-Mu'minin" to "Khalifa"
Author: Ruhollah Behzad
Sources in Panjshir tell me that local Taliban officials in the province, through the mediation of Sirajuddin Haqqani, known as the “Khalifa” (Caliph), bypassed Mullah Baradar's group in the province and pledged allegiance to the Haqqani network**.
PHOTO: Anas Haqqani, brother of Sirajuddin Haqqani visiting Hamid Khorasani, Panjshir, January 2022.
A source who has recently seen Sirajuddin Haqqani personally in Panjshir says that this is the third time that Sirajuddin Haqqani has come to the valley to meet with the governor and other senior officials of the province.
The Panjshir Taliban** are mostly affiliated with Kandahari, Helmand, Uruzgani, and Farahis Taliban of Mullah Baradar's group and the Haqqani network is trying to oust this group and move his forces to the province.
On the other hand, the Panjshiri Taliban are using this atmosphere to strengthen their position, and by changing the qibla, they want to gain more authority and enjoy honor and respect in the caliph's court.
On unfounded pretexts, they insult, imprison and eliminate some high-ranking former employees of local administrations, and immediately put “their own” in their place. Most of the eliminations and dismissals come from or through the "Khalifa" himself.
Similarly, the Panjshiri Taliban have hosted the "Khalifa" several times and have imprisoned several members of the Kandahar Taliban group, the most recent of which was the arrest of several of them after looting the property of former Interior Minister Taj Mohammad Jahed in the Parakh village.
According to the source, demonstrations in Panjshir in January also abused the feelings of a mourning family. Hamid Khorasani, by making empty promises such as arresting the perpetrators of this crime, the court, etc., filled the pockets of the young man's family of the deceased and the protesting people with wooden sweets. Even after Sirajuddin Haqqani returned to Kabul, he strongly criticized the Minister of Defense, Mullah Yaqub, who belongs to the Mullah Baradar team.
He also told people that moments ago in Pashto (!) spoke to Kabul and ordered that a commission be set up to prosecute the perpetrators, including the Kandahari commander and the Anaba district governor. The Talib who killed the young man is also from Kandahar.
The source says that people tired of the Taliban's crimes yesterday and today got a chance and before the eyes of Hamid Khorasani and other local Taliban chanted the slogan of "Death to the Islamic Emirate!", "Death to traitors and traders!", and continued to protest after burying the dead young man. They accused all local Taliban, including Hamid Khorasani, of lying and exposed the Taliban's crimes and the countless killings of innocent people.
According to the people, the Panjshiri Taliban, especially Hamid Khorasani, did not expect the widespread and popular nature of the demonstrations, and for this reason, the demonstrations became so popular and anti-Taliban that the Panjshiri Taliban lost control of them.
However, it seems that the pursuit of Sirajuddin Haqqani by the United States is also nonsense. Ostensibly, the United States has no plans to stabilize the Haqqani place of presence. He is free to raise money under various pretexts, to consolidate his position of power and political future as the first person of the Taliban, and on the other hand, both the Mulla Baradar’s group and the Haqqani Network fascinate the Americans.
* Qibla in Islam is a direction accurately set from anywhere in the world towards the sacred Kaaba in the city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, observed by all Muslims during the five times daily prayers and the performance of a number of rituals.
** The organization is under UN sanctions for terrorist activities.
