The Afghan Taliban movement has made remarkable changes in its military and political leadership, most notably the appointment of Mullah Muhammad Yaqoub - the son of the founder of the movement, Mullah Omar - as the military official of the movement in all of Afghanistan, and included 5 military leaders to the negotiating body with the Afghan government.
The importance of appointing the thirtieth young Mullah Yaqoub to this position lies in confirming and consolidating the influence of the Mullah Muhammad Omar family in the movement, which increases the presence of young people in its leadership, and it strengthens the grip of its leader, Mullah Haibatullah Akhandzadeh, on field leaders, in light of reports of differences between the leadership Political and military towards reconciliation.
A proactive step
And 4 months after the signing of the peace agreement between the United States and the Taliban, the parties to the conflict in Afghanistan have not been able to start Afghan-Afghan negotiations, mainly because the movement has not released 5,000 detainees from the Afghan prisons.
The government’s procrastination serves the Taliban hawks stream, which prefers military decisiveness to negotiate with the Kabul government, which the movement’s leader is trying to overcome by including all the movement’s currents in the negotiation process, so that the movement is led by a unified leadership and a consistent political and military decision.
Here lies the importance of the initiative of Akhanzadeh to impose new appointments in the Taliban, as the presence of the son of its founder, Mullah Muhammad Omar at the head of the military, and the presence of 5 senior military leaders in the delegation to negotiate with the government, would strengthen the influence of the political bureau in the journey of negotiations with Kabul.
Message to multiple parties
A source in the movement for Al-Jazeera Net in Afghanistan said, "The political office consisted of 20 people, most of them from the southern regions of the country, and the Kandahar presence was evident in it, so the movement's leader wanted to allow others to have an active presence in the movement's directions. And the appointment of Qasim Turkman - who belongs To the Turkmen ethnicity - a message to everyone that the movement is open to all, and does not intend to monopolize power. "
While writer and political researcher Abdul Jabbar Bahir - in his interview with Al-Jazeera Net - believes that "the aim of the recent appointments is the participation of military leaders in the negotiations, the convergence of views between the political and military wing, and the representation of all Afghan ethnicities in negotiations. These appointments were made two months ago, but the announcement About her came now, and the Taliban want to send a message that it is serious about starting negotiations, so it has appointed influential figures in the movement that can control fighters in the field. "
The writer and political researcher Hikmat Jalil believes that "after the announcement of the death of the movement's founder and the assumption of Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour, the movement was subjected to defections, and Mullah Muhammad Rasul and his deputy Mullah Abdul Mannan Niyazi announced another faction that settled in Herat province, and this was in protest against Mullah Akhtar Mansour's leadership. The movement, in addition to the departure of some important military leaders such as Mullah Abdul Qayyum Zakir, and this led to the splitting of the Taliban ranks and their weakening at the time. "
Therefore - Jalil says to Al Jazeera Net - "Mullah Haibatullah Akhandzadeh wants to cut off the path for those who may come out with him as negotiations begin with the Afghan government. And appoint Mullah Muhammad Yaqoub, a military official of the movement, aimed at tightening the grip on military action and eliminating the tension in the Taliban."
New members?
"The movement wants to show the world that it is one hand, and that the decisions of the political committee will be binding on everyone, and that the movement's political affairs deputy Mullah Abdul Ghani Brader seeks to unify his rank, because negotiations with the Afghan government will be difficult," writer and political analyst Mirwais Afghani told Al-Jazeera Net. And it takes strong people to best represent the Taliban. "
Here is an overview of the five new negotiators on the negotiating team:
1- Sheikh Abdul Hakim Ishaq Zai , chief judge of the Taliban, and belongs to the tribe of Ishaq Zai. He was born in Bend Taimur district of Kandahar province, and was close to the founder of the movement, Mullah Muhammad Omar, and he is now close to the movement's leader, Mullah Akhandzadeh. He assumed the position of the judiciary after the death of Mullah Muhammad Omar, and according to sources close to the Taliban, he enjoys wide influence in the movement.
2- Sheikh Noor Muhammad Saqib , President of the Supreme Court during the rule of the Taliban, and belongs to the Dolat Zai tribe in the state of Lugar, and has strong influence within the movement.
3- Al-Mawlawi Abdul-Kabir , a member of the Zardan tribe in the state of Paktia, southeast of the capital, Kabul, and his grandfather previously moved to Baghlan state. The Zardan tribe is one of the large tribes in the southeastern states to which the leader of the Haqqani Network belongs, and Sirajuddin Haqqani is the first deputy leader of the Taliban movement.
4- Mullah Shireen , the military official in 16 states in southern and western Afghanistan, and belongs to the Norzai tribe in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan.
5- Sheikh Qasim Turkman , who belongs to the Turkmen ethnicity in Baghlan State, northern Afghanistan, and is a member of the Central Command after the fall of the Taliban government in 2001.
On this, the Taliban expert, Enayatullah Kaker - told Al-Jazeera Net - "The appointment of these to the negotiation committee will give more legitimacy, because they have extensive experience in negotiations, and have worked in the Taliban since its inception, and their presence is necessary for serious and fruitful negotiations with the government."
For his part, the spokesman for the reconciliation committee in Kabul, Fereydoon Khuzoun, welcomed the recent appointments in the movement, and told Al-Jazeera Net, "Every step that serves reconciliation in Afghanistan is welcome, and we consider it progress in this long path, and we hope that these appointments lead to a ceasefire throughout the country." .