In a sign of deep political tension within the Taliban, a collection of religious leaders in the group’s headquarters in Pakistan issued a letter of rebuke this month to the new insurgent leader over his bloody crackdown on dissenting commanders.
It was unclear whether the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times and confirmed in interviews with several Taliban commanders, would amount to more than a symbolic setback for the Taliban leader, Mullah Akhtar Mansour. He has aggressively consolidated power since he was named leader in July. Commanders say he has kept a grip on the group’s biggest sources of income, including the trafficking of opium.
The Taliban commanders and members of the group’s ruling council at the headquarters in Quetta, Pakistan, most of whom spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal negotiations, differed on how much weight was carried by the letter from the religious leaders. But they agreed that it reflected unease over infighting and deadly crackdowns ordered by Mullah Mansour, including the deployment of hundreds of fighters to kill a rival senior commander this month.
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An Afghan police officer searching for drugs in Nimroz Province this spring. The top Taliban commander, Mullah Akhtar Mansour, has a tight grip on trafficking of opium by the Taliban.Credit Bryan Denton for The New York Times
Afghanistan hanged five men on Wednesday over a gang rape that had shocked the country, officials said. Human rights groups had called for new President Ashraf Ghani to stay the executions to address concerns about the handling of the case. The incident sparked concern in Afghanistan’s conservative society over public security at a time when foreign troops are leaving the country.
The men were convicted of robbery and extramarital sex, but not rape — which is widely seen as a taboo subject. The victims were returning home from a wedding along with their families outside Kabul in August. Officials said a large group of men, some dressed in police uniforms, and carrying assault rifles, stopped a convoy of cars. They dragged four women out of the cars in the middle of the night and raped them in a field near the main road. The assault provoked such an outpouring of rage that former President Hamid Karzai told a delegation of women the perpetrators would face the death penalty. Karzai confirmed the death sentences just before leaving office late last month.
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Nooses hang at an execution site in Pul-e-Charkhi prison on the outskirts of Kabul on Wednesday.
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