Anas Haqqani refutes reports of differences among Taliban leaders

KABUL (Reuters): Senior Taliban member Anas Haqqani on Thursday refuted media reports regarding differences among the leaders of the movement, terming them as “baseless”.

Haqqani, who is the younger brother of the Taliban’s newly appointed Acting Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, said that such rumours are a part of the “propaganda” against Afghanistan.

“Enemy’s vicious propaganda can do no harm to this unity. The Islamic Emirate respects Islamic and Afghan values,” he said in a video statement after reports emerged that Afghanistan’s acting deputy prime minister Abdul Ghani Baradar was killed in a clash with a rival faction of the Taliban.

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He added: “We are united to bring peace, stability and prosperity to Afghanistan.”

The Associated Press had earlier reported about “friction” between pragmatists and ideologues in the Taliban leadership that has “intensified” since the group formed a hard-line cabinet last week.

“The wrangling has taken place behind the scenes, but rumours quickly began circulating about a recent violent confrontation between the two camps at the presidential palace, including claims that the leader of the pragmatic faction, Abdul Ghani Baradar, was killed,” the American agency had said.

The AP further added: “In a further sign that the hard-liners had prevailed, the white Taliban flag was raised over the presidential palace, replacing the Afghan national flag.”

‘I am ok’

Meanwhile, Abdul Ghani Baradar appeared in a video interview posted on Wednesday to deny reports that he was hurt in a clash with a rival faction of the Taliban.

“No this is not true; I am OK and healthy,” Baradar said in an interview with state TV which was posted on Twitter by the Taliban’s political office in Doha.

“The media says that there [are] internal disputes. There is nothing between us, it is not true.”

The brief clip showed him seated on a sofa next to an interviewer with an RTA state television microphone, apparently reading from a sheet of paper.

“There is nothing to worry about,” he said.

Earlier, an official from the Taliban’s cultural commission said on Twitter that the interview would be shown on RTA TV to disprove “enemy propaganda”.

Taliban officials have issued repeated denials in recent days that Baradar had been hurt.

Baradar, one of the founding members of the Taliban and once seen as the likely head of a Taliban government, had not been seen in public for some time. He was not part of the ministerial delegation which met Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani in Kabul on Sunday.

In the clip, he said he had been on a trip when the visit took place and had not been able to get back in time.