Mullah Yaqoob, the Taliban's defense minister, is allegedly miffed about the rifts in the ranks of Taliban.
In an audio message, which has been leaked on social media, Yaqoob expresses dissatisfaction regarding removal of the Taliban flag in Khost district of Baghlan province.
Yaqoob can be heard as saying, "In Khawash valley of Khost wa Farang district, some rebels came, removed the flag and there was a rumour that they have taken this area from the Mujahideen [Taliban]. The Mujahideen had themselves evacuated the area and no one was present there." Yaqoob complained that the fighters of this group had assured the "elders" that they were present on the field, but ground realities prove the contrary.
The National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF) had announced on Thursday, July 7, that the group had "liberated Suchi Bala and Suchi Pain in Khost district of Baghlan province from the Taliban and inflicted heavy casualties on the group”. At the same time, a video was published on social media in which the Taliban flag was removed by armed men. The National Resistance Front said on its official website that “the Taliban fled from these areas and the forces of the National Resistance Front had been relocated there”.
Yaqoob can then be heard as urging Taliban fighters to "obey" their duties properly and fulfil their responsibilities.
A new wave of pressure against civilians
Meanwhile, along with the release of Mullah Yaqoob's audio file on social media and following the removal of the Taliban flag in two areas of Suchi Bala and Suchi Bain of Khost district, a wave of arrests and new pressures by the group against civilians in this district has been launched.
One day after the Taliban flag was removed, the Taliban arrested a group of men from Khost district.
Local sources from Khost district confirmed that the Taliban "arbitrarily arrested" 12 men from the district on Friday.
In another incident, local sources confirmed that Ziaul Haq Raid, a former local employee of the Ministry of Finance in this district, was shot after three days of torture in a Taliban prison. The body of the young man was handed over to his family on Saturday, July 9.
On Monday morning, the Taliban shot dead a civilian named Sayed Aman Osmani in Suchi Bala village of Khost district.