Rahmatullah Najib, the administrative deputy of the Taliban’s Ministry of Interior, has said there are no disagreements among the group’s leadership and that no senior figure seeks to replace Taliban leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada.
Najib’s remarks appeared to respond to reactions within the Taliban following recent comments by Sirajuddin Haqqani, the group’s interior minister, which were widely interpreted as critical of the leadership’s governing approach.
Speaking on Sunday, 14 December, at a graduation ceremony for Taliban police in Maidan Wardak province, Najib said: “I have held private meetings with each of the leaders. There is no idea in their minds that someone else should replace the Amir al-Mumineen. The thought that another person should become amir does not exist at all.”
He said all senior Taliban officials continue to fight opponents of the system under the leadership of Hibatullah.
In another part of his speech, Najib said establishing a system based on democratic values in Afghanistan was impossible and lacked public support. “To those who chant slogans of democracy, I say it is not worth getting yourselves killed for it,” he said. “Democracy is not a formula for which you should suffer.”
Najib also called for firm action against those who act against what he described as the system.
His insistence on unity among Taliban leaders appeared aimed at clarifying or countering remarks made by Haqqani on Friday in Khost. In that speech, Haqqani criticised the Taliban’s style of governance and treatment of the population, implicitly acknowledging that the group relies on humiliation, violence and fear to maintain control.
