Taliban Leader Reportedly Pressures Hamid Karzai Into Exile

Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has urged former Afghan President Hamid Karzai to leave the country, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The demand followed a secretly recorded conversation in which Karzai allegedly described himself as Akhundzada’s greatest political threat, saying his presence could mark the end of the Taliban chief’s rule.

According to the sources, informants loyal to Akhundzada recorded Karzai telling a guest that “no political leader frightens Hibatullah as much as I do.” The timing of the conversation and the guest’s identity were not disclosed.

The sources said that after hearing the recording, the Taliban leader instructed officials in Kabul to tell Karzai he must leave Afghanistan. Karzai reportedly refused, saying Afghanistan was his homeland and he had no intention of departing.

Taliban Seeks to Silence Karzai

The Taliban have also pressed the former Afghan president not to comment on political or international issues, according to the sources. Karzai is said to have responded that he only speaks on matters of public good and national interest, not on the Taliban’s day-to-day affairs.

Karzai, one of the few senior Afghan politicians to remain in Kabul since the Taliban seized power, has repeatedly met foreign diplomats and travelled abroad in recent years. He has openly supported girls’ education and urged the Taliban to reopen secondary schools.

The sources said Karzai had resisted Taliban pressure to stop speaking about education, telling them women’s and girls’ schooling was not a “minor issue” and that he would not remain silent.

Dispute Over Kandahar Travel

Karzai has also sought permission to travel to his native Kandahar to visit relatives, the sources said. The Taliban set conditions: no public gatherings and the presence of a representative from Akhundzada’s office at any private meetings. Karzai reportedly rejected the terms.

Analysts view Karzai’s remarks about the Taliban leader’s fear of him through the lens of Afghanistan’s ethnic and tribal politics. Akhundzada is from the Noorzai tribe, the first member of the group to hold the country’s top office, while Karzai hails from the Sadozai and Barakzai dynasties.

In recent months, Karzai drew public praise for attending his children’s graduation ceremony in Kabul with his wife and family; an act seen as defiance against Taliban restrictions on men and women appearing together in public.

Karzai’s latest comments could increase Taliban pressure for his exile. The question remains whether he will resist the Taliban leader’s demands and stay in Afghanistan, or join other political leaders forced abroad.