(CNN) – Taliban leaders are rarely seen at public events and do not give interviews or hold press conferences. Many of them move in the shadows, have unknown whereabouts, inevitably generating rumors about their health and about possible internal misunderstandings.
These rumors have gained so much traction in recent days that Taliban spokesmen have been forced to reject questions about whether one of the group’s most prominent figures, Mullah Baradar, was injured or even killed in a crash. disputes in Kabul last week against the powerful Haqqani network, which holds key positions in the interim government.
Similarly, Taliban officials have repeatedly said that the movement’s supreme leader and commander-in-chief, Haibatullah Akhundzada, would soon make a public appearance. But he hasn’t, fueling rumors that he’s sick or even dead.
In other countries, a politician subjected to such speculation would convene a press conference or make an appearance on television to make things clear. In the case of Baradar, a 39-second audio recording of modest quality was released on Monday, along with a handwritten note from his assistant. No videos or images were posted. The last time he was seen in Baradar was in a fleeting appearance at a hotel in Kabul in the first week of September.
Mullah Baradar, one of the deputy prime ministers, has not been seen in public in days.
In the audio clip, Baradar allegedly says, “There are some conversations in the media. I had been traveling during those days. I had gone somewhere and, thank God, we’re all fine. Some of these media networks do this kind of propaganda and tell very embarrassing lies. Reject these rumors bravely. No problems, thank God. I assure you 100%. “
Baradar is the head of the Taliban’s political office and led Doha negotiations with the previous government and the United States. Some expected him to be appointed prime minister, but after lengthy negotiations on the form of the new government, Baradar was appointed deputy prime minister.
Rumors of internal disagreements were fueled by Baradar’s absence from the delegation that met with Qatar’s foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammad bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, in Kabul on Sunday. Taliban officials said he was not in Kabul, but had gone to Kandahar, where supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada is said to have his headquarters.
The invisible Taliban leaders
The invisibility of Taliban leaders is not a new phenomenon. This is not a group that feels the need to communicate with the outside world. In many ways, the Taliban’s public relations effort has become much more sophisticated in recent years, with social media accounts in multiple languages and spokespersons like Zabihullah Mujahid giving press conferences. The Taliban produced a prodigious volume of videos when their fighters stormed across the country in August.
But this more assertive communication strategy does not extend to leaders who have spent much of their lives fighting in guerrilla warfare and, in some cases, years in prison. The Taliban remain a secret organization.
Azaz Syed, a Pakistani journalist who has reported on the Taliban for years, told CNN: “Most key Taliban leaders, particularly the Haqqani family, avoid public exposure or appearances because they are convinced that their identity would help the enemy target them. ” Old habits, it seems, are hard to die for.
There is no better example of the Taliban’s attitude towards publicity and transparency than the circumstances of the death from tuberculosis of its co-founder and first leader, Mullah Omar. He died in 2013, but the group did not reveal the fact until two years later. This in itself was an indication of the deep divisions within the group, especially over the peace negotiations, which many of the Taliban military commanders resisted. So serious were the divisions that some commanders left the group to join ISIS’s emerging affiliate in Afghanistan.
The current Taliban government
Authorities have repeatedly said the top Taliban leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, would soon make a public appearance. He hasn’t done it yet.
The current supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, was elected in 2016 at a conflicting leadership council meeting, or swearing-in, in the Pakistani city of Quetta, the headquarters of the Taliban in exile. He has not made a public appearance in the five years since then. For much of 2020, not a single statement came up on his behalf. A senior Taliban official, Moulawi Muhammad Ali Jan Ahmed, told Foreign Policy last year that Akhundzada had been affected by the coronavirus, which affected many senior Taliban officials.
“Our leader is ill, but he is recovering,” Ahmed told Foreign Policy in an interview in June 2020. Other Taliban sources told Foreign Policy that they thought Akhundzada had died of covid-19.
In the month since the Taliban took power in Kabul, only a statement was issued on behalf of Akhundzada, in which he said, “I assure all compatriots that the figures [ministros del gobierno talibán] they will work hard to maintain Islamic rules and Sharia law in the country. “
If there are serious divisions within the Taliban leadership today, they may have their roots in this slang of 2016. A compromise was reached to keep the group together, with two designated sub-leaders: Mullah Yaqoob, son of the former Taliban leader Mullah Omar; and Sirajuddin Haqqani, leader of the Haqqani network.
Both are in the new government, as defense and interior ministers, respectively. Little has been seen of either despite its importance in holding key securities portfolios.
However, Sirajuddin’s uncle Khalil, who has been appointed minister for refugees, has been more visible, has addressed tribal meetings and has even given interviews to selected foreign journalists. GeoNews’ Azaz Syed met him in Kabul last month.
“Among the Haqqani, Khalil Haqqani is in fact more visible in social gatherings,” Syed said. “However, he is also very careful with his safety: every time he moves around the city, a car transport and security guards from the 313th Special Brigade provide him with security.” Protection may not be surprising, as he has a $ 5 million reward for his boss, “courtesy” of the U.S. government, while his nephew Sirajuddin has a $ 10 million reward.
In this feverish atmosphere, anything that arises about a dispute or clash between rival elements will be in carefully worded unofficial whispers. The Taliban’s internal machinations and decision-making give a new definition to the word opaque.