Mawlawi Nuruddin, the governor of Takhar, was removed from office. He is one of the senior commanders of the Uzbek Taliban in northern Afghanistan
Kunduz, March 14 - Sangar, Jamshed Badakhshi. His deputy, Mullah Jan Mohammad Hamza, a local Pashtun Taliban, was also removed.
Sangar's information was confirmed by an official source in the Takhar regional administration. Qari Mohammad Ismail, deputy commander of the 217th Omari Army Corps, was named governor, he said, and Haji Mohammad Kazem, another Taliban commander, was appointed his deputy.
"Mavlavi Nuriddin was transferred to the post of deputy of one of the departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Jan Mohammad Khamza was appointed deputy commander of the 217th Omari Army Corps in Kunduz," the source said.
Thus, the management of affairs in the province of Takhar and the 217th Omari Army Corps in Kunduz completely passes into the hands of representatives of one ethnic group - the Pashtuns. The commander of this corpus is a man named Mullah Rahmatullah Mohammad, also a Pashtun.
Mawlawi Nuruddin was one of the most powerful Taliban commanders in northeastern Afghanistan, who played a prominent role in the fall of the province.
One of his relatives told Sangar that rumors about his removal in Takhar were circulating from the end of February, when the Taliban called him to Kabul, where he spent about 20 days and returned to Takhar on March 12.
“On March 5, a group of Taliban fighters came to the house of Mavlavi Nuriddin in the Baharak district. They confiscated three of his warehouses and took with them 140 PKs, 260 rockets, a large number of mortars, and other types of weapons and ammunition in three vehicles of the former army to Taliqan, the center of Takhar province," he said.
The source reports that Mavlavi Nuriddin spent 20 days in Kabul and Kandahar, where he met with Mullah Haybatullah, the so-called "amir al-muminin."
“He was advised to leave his post, move to Kabul, and work in a new position. He was appointed Deputy for Financial and Administrative Affairs of the Department of Public Services of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which is a decorative position,” he said.
With Mawlawi Nuriddin removed from office, the Taliban continue their plan to disarm and incompetent their non-Pashtun commanders. Over the past month, a number of prominent non-Pashto commanders have been removed from their posts and moved to positions that prevent them from participating in decision-making processes, especially during hostilities.
Earlier, a senior commander of the Uzbek Taliban Qari Salahuddin Ayubi, who was deputy commander of the 203rd Tundar Army Corps, was appointed deputy minister of rural development. Mawlawi Ataullah Omari, commander of the 209th Fatah Army Corps in Mazar-i-Sharif, was also fired and appointed Deputy Defense Minister for Logistics.
He was replaced by Mawlawi Amir Khan Haqqani, a senior member of the Haqqani Network*. Haji Milikhan, a relative of Interior Minister and leader of the Haqqani network Sirajuddin Haqqani, has also been appointed Deputy Chief of Defense Staff Qari Fasihuddin. This appointment will also tie the hands of Tajik Fasihuddin. The appointment of Mawlawi Nuriddin to a position in the Ministry of Internal Affairs also automatically places him under the control of the Haqqani Network.
Earlier, Makhdum Alim, a prominent commander of the Uzbek Taliban, was arrested. He is accused of spying for previous governments and the United States.
Mawlawi Najib, another powerful Tajik Taliban commander in Badakhshan, has been held in Kabul since the Taliban came to power. He is not allowed to return to Badakhshan.
On March 10, a Taliban group seized an ammunition depot belonging to Taliban Air Force Commander Mawlawi Amanuddin in the Kishm district of Badakhshan province. Rumor has it that this prominent Tajik Taliban commander will also be removed and be sent to Kabul.
These changes come as the Taliban increasingly talk about the inclusiveness of their government from the global tribunes, but in practice make it more Pashtun. On the other hand, the story of the non-Pashtun Taliban, who call themselves "conquerors of the north", is coming to an end.
*The organization is under UN sanctions for terrorist activities.
