Mawlawi Qayyum Noorzai Appointed as Governor of Khost; A Sign of Tension Between Taliban Leader and Haqqani Network?

News Blog (English): According to Bilal Sarwary, a former BBC journalist, Mawlawi Qayyum Noorzai, a Noorzai from Farah province and close to Haibatullah Akhundzada, the leader of the Taliban group, has been appointed as the new governor of Khost. Khost is located in the heart of the Haqqani network’s base.

This appointment comes after the recent trip of Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban’s Minister of Interior, to the Gulf countries. Some analysts believe that this move could be an attempt by the Taliban leader to contain Haqqani in Khost. The coming weeks and months will reveal more information in this regard.

Sarwary believes that the Taliban group has never been a monolithic entity and cannot be one. He considers fear, distrust, division, infiltration, and violence to be among the core elements of the Taliban group and emphasizes that it is time to wake up to reality and have some mercy on Afghans.