Akhundzada’s meetings with top jihadist figures, including Abdul Haq Turkistani, signal potential shifts in Taliban power dynamics

(Islamabad) The Taliban’s supreme leader, Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, has spent the last week visiting several northern Afghan cities on his first trip to the region in three years since the group regained control of the country.

No official images or details have emerged from these visits, raising questions about their purpose and impact. According to sources within the Taliban, Akhundzada visited Kunduz on Friday as part of his tour of northwestern provinces, urging Taliban members to avoid internal divisions and maintain discipline.

Despite Akhundzada’s calls for unity, internal rifts within the Taliban appear to be deepening. A recent United Nations report suggests that his frequent warnings have done little to resolve the ongoing power struggles within the group’s leadership. During his tour, Akhundzada visited Samangan, Faryab, Jawzjan, and Balkh provinces, repeatedly stressing the importance of unity and discouraging divisions based on ethnicity, language, or regional differences.

Akhundzada’s limited public presence has made him a mysterious figure, raising doubts about his ability to effectively enforce his directives. His lack of visibility complicates efforts to assert authority over Taliban members.

A Taliban official, speaking anonymously to The Media Line, revealed that Akhundzada also met with Abdul Haq Turkistani, a senior al-Qaida commander and leader of the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), in Maymana City. A United Nations Security Council report noted that the leadership of the TIP, primarily composed of ethnic Uyghurs, operates from northern Afghanistan with Taliban support. The group seeks to liberate China’s Xinjiang province and establish a jihadist state.

Abdul Haq Turkistani, appointed to al-Qaida’s executive council in 2005, has long been involved in jihadist activity. In 2008, he threatened attacks during the Beijing Olympics, and by 2009, he vowed to target Chinese embassies globally. Recently, the US Treasury Department designated him a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, with the United Nations also recognizing him as a terrorist leader.

This visit marks the first time in three years that Akhundzada has met with leaders of armed groups from China and Uzbekistan. Previously, TIP leaders worked primarily with Sirajuddin Haqqani, the head of the Haqqani network and the Taliban’s interior minister.

Turkistani’s presence in Afghanistan contradicts the Taliban’s claim that no foreign fighters operate in the country. Experts say Akhundzada’s visit holds significant strategic importance, potentially affecting regional dynamics. While China invests heavily in Afghanistan, the Taliban leader’s engagement with anti-China guerrillas complicates this relationship.

Northern Afghanistan is a key region for the Taliban due to its proximity to Central Asia and its strategic trade routes. The region’s ethnic diversity, including groups historically opposed to the Taliban, makes it vital for consolidating power. Traditionally a stronghold for anti-Taliban factions, controlling northern Afghanistan allows the Taliban to suppress resistance and enhance its influence over Central Asia.

Despite Taliban claims, their control over the region remains incomplete. Akhundzada’s visit may be aimed at reinforcing Taliban forces to strengthen their hold on the area.

He noted, “China, a key regional ally, has heavily invested in Afghanistan through projects in mining and infrastructure. However, the Taliban’s ongoing ties with militant groups like the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), which opposes Beijing, could put this fragile relationship at risk.”

Massoud added that Akhundzada’s meetings with militia commanders suggest the Taliban intends to maintain, if not strengthen, its jihadist alliances. He speculated that Akhundzada may be distancing himself from the powerful Haqqani network, led by Sirajuddin Haqqani, to consolidate his own power.

Adrian Calamel, a senior fellow at the Arabian Peninsula Institute and an expert on South Asian terrorism, told The Media Line, “Akhundzada’s visit to Northern Afghanistan focuses on directing militant forces toward the West, steering them away from Chinese targets.”

He added that Turkistani remains under al-Qaida’s control in Afghanistan and emphasized the importance of protecting Chinese investments in the country.

Calamel dismissed the idea that Akhundzada is distancing himself from the Haqqanis, suggesting that Siraj Haqqani may have orchestrated what he called “terrorist shuttle diplomacy.” He also warned that the US withdrawal from Afghanistan was a “disastrous mistake” that the US will regret.

Kyle Orton, a British counter-terrorism analyst, told The Media Line, “The Taliban and al-Qaida operate as an indistinguishable jihadist network controlling Afghanistan, so Akhundzada’s meeting with the TIP/ETIM chief is not surprising” and will not affect Taliban-China relations. Calling NATO’s withdrawal from Afghanistan “a catastrophic mistake” that has seen the country regress to “pre-9/11 conditions,” Orton said the main threat to China from Afghanistan comes from the Islamic State’s Khorasan Province, which has grown since the Taliban’s 2021 takeover.

Kamal Alam, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, told The Media Line, “Akhund’s previous reluctance to visit the north suggests he didn’t deem it secure enough. Unlike Kandahar, the north lies outside the Taliban’s main sphere of influence.” He noted that the north, home to non-Pashtun groups like Tajiks and Uzbeks, has historically resisted Taliban rule.

Alam explained that the Taliban maintains control in the north through mercenary alliances rather than ideological loyalty. He cautioned that northern power brokers are pragmatic and may switch allegiances if Taliban control weakens, making the region’s situation fragile.

Meanwhile, US Republicans released a report on Monday criticizing President Joe Biden’s handling of the 2021 US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The withdrawal deal had originally been negotiated by then-President Donald Trump and the Taliban in 2020. Despite this, Republicans have strongly criticized President Biden for the chaotic withdrawal.

The report stated that the swift withdrawal caused chaos in Afghanistan, leading to the deaths of 13 US service members in a suicide bombing at Kabul airport and the Taliban’s rapid takeover of the capital.

Written by Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the report accused Biden of failing to “mitigate the likely consequences of the decision” to withdraw US troops.

The report claimed that “Biden’s decision to withdraw all US troops was not based on the security situation, the Doha agreement, or the advice of his senior national security advisors or our allies.” Instead, it argued, the decision stemmed from Biden’s “longstanding and unyielding opinion that the United States should no longer be in Afghanistan.”

It further stated, “America’s credibility on the world stage was severely damaged after we abandoned Afghan allies to Taliban reprisal killings—the people of Afghanistan we had promised to protect.”

The report has reignited debate over the handling of the US’s longest war, just months before the November 2024 presidential election.

The withdrawal ended the US’s two-decadelong military presence in Afghanistan, during which around 775,000 American service members were deployed. More than 2,400 US troops were killed, and nearly 21,000 were wounded. Independent estimates suggest that more than 110,000 Afghan civilians and security forces died during the conflict.