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dpa
Islamabad
The Taliban’s acting deputy prime minister, Mullah Baradar Akhund, appeared on state-run TV on Wednesday night to reject speculation he had been wounded or killed by Taliban in-fighting.
In the brief interview, Baradar said he had been on a trip to a place outside of Kabul and did not have access to any sort of communication to talk to the people and assure them of his well-being.
“Then there are some reports that some media says that they have ‘in-fighting’ - these reports are not true at all. Thanks to God, there is a mercy and compassion among ourselves that even cannot be found in a family.” He said the Taliban was not fighting amongst themselves for power or positions, but was only battling to put an end to the occupation of Afghanistan.
Recently, there were reports that the Taliban leadership was not uniformly happy on the make up of the Cabinet, as more power was given to the notorious Haqqani network, leading to violent internal struggles. There was even speculation that Baradar had been killed or injured.
On Sunday, the Qatari foreign minister visited Kabul and met with Taliban leaders and some former Afghan politicians, but Baradar was not present to greet the guest at the key meeting.
In the Taliban Cabinet, which was announced around a week ago, Baradar - who served as the militant group’s chief of negotiations with the US - surprisingly was tapped only as first deputy to the Taliban’s new acting prime minister, Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund.
Observers had believed Baradar will serve as prime minister.
Islamabad
The Taliban’s acting deputy prime minister, Mullah Baradar Akhund, appeared on state-run TV on Wednesday night to reject speculation he had been wounded or killed by Taliban in-fighting.
In the brief interview, Baradar said he had been on a trip to a place outside of Kabul and did not have access to any sort of communication to talk to the people and assure them of his well-being.
“Then there are some reports that some media says that they have ‘in-fighting’ - these reports are not true at all. Thanks to God, there is a mercy and compassion among ourselves that even cannot be found in a family.” He said the Taliban was not fighting amongst themselves for power or positions, but was only battling to put an end to the occupation of Afghanistan.
Recently, there were reports that the Taliban leadership was not uniformly happy on the make up of the Cabinet, as more power was given to the notorious Haqqani network, leading to violent internal struggles. There was even speculation that Baradar had been killed or injured.
On Sunday, the Qatari foreign minister visited Kabul and met with Taliban leaders and some former Afghan politicians, but Baradar was not present to greet the guest at the key meeting.
In the Taliban Cabinet, which was announced around a week ago, Baradar - who served as the militant group’s chief of negotiations with the US - surprisingly was tapped only as first deputy to the Taliban’s new acting prime minister, Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund.
Observers had believed Baradar will serve as prime minister.
