Taliban Says It Has Identified ‘Self-Interested’ Members Within Its Ranks

Tajmir Jawad, deputy intelligence chief of the Taliban administration, has said that people with “material” motives have been identified within the group and that their movements are under surveillance. He said action would be taken against them.

According to him, those who joined the Taliban administration solely for “material privileges” cannot fight to strengthen the group. He also stressed that preserving the Taliban’s structure requires people with “ideological, intellectual and faith-based allegiance.”

The deputy intelligence chief made the remarks in a message marking the fifth anniversary of the group’s takeover of Afghanistan. Without naming any specific person or faction, he claimed that, as in the past, some people are now being used to damage what he described as the “achievements of 20 years of war.”

He did not provide details on the identity of these people or the scope of their activities, but said necessary measures had been taken to prevent them from achieving their goals. Jawad also described efforts to consolidate the Taliban administration as a continuation of the group’s 20-year “jihad.”

The comments come as, on the eve of the Taliban administration’s fifth year in power, the activities and attacks of groups opposing the administration have increased in recent days and weeks. At the same time, clashes between the forces of Jumma Khan Faateh, a disgruntled Taliban commander, and Taliban forces in Nasi district of Badakhshan province have entered their fifth day.

Local sources said that, alongside continued airstrikes, the Taliban administration has sent reinforcements to Badakhshan and is preparing to launch a large-scale ground operation. Earlier, informed sources told Afghanistan International that the operation against Jumma Khan Faateh’s forces was launched on Tajmir Jawad’s orders.

The dispute between Jumma Khan Faateh and the Taliban leadership began months ago over mineral extraction and escalated after the arrest of several of his close associates on the orders of the Taliban governor in Badakhshan. Nasi district is in the eastern part of Badakhshan, a province that in recent months has repeatedly seen internal tensions within the Taliban ranks.