According to a senior United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) official, Taliban leaders disagree on various matters. During a discussion with the Council on Foreign Relations, UNAMA Director for Political Affairs Scott Smith stated that Taliban leaders were divided on an array of disciplines.
Smith refers to the closure of girls’ schools as an example of Taliban leaders’ disagreement, claiming that Kabul, and Kandahar are in a disagreement about the matter.
UNAMA senior official, Smith, mentions the suspension of girls’ schools as Taliban leaders’ disagreement, noting that some high Taliban officials are in favor and are working to get it done, but a number of other senior Taliban officials are against, asserting that Kandahar will make the final decision.
Smith was reported in the report by Radio Azadi as saying: “All the Taliban want is to remain in power as a government, but they disagree on how to govern. For the past ten years, a Taliban group in Doha has dealt with the international community and is cognizant of global issues, whilst another group has been involved in the war. When we call for schools to reopen or for women to not be forced to wear the hijab, the first group responds that they will lose their fighters’ trust.”
The Taliban’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Shir Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, criticized the Taliban for closing girls’ schools on May 22, claiming that denying Afghan girls an education equivalent to “eating half of the country’s population.”
He also slammed the Taliban’s political, economic, and social strategies and policies. The international community urges the Taliban to open schools to all girls as soon as possible, to lift the restrictions on women, to respect human rights, including women’s rights, to form a comprehensive government, and to cut ties with terrorist groups.—Khaama News Agency
