TL;DR
Leaked audio and a rare internet shutdown expose deepening rift between Taliban hardliners in Kandahar and more pragmatic leaders in Kabul.
Why This Matters
The latest update from Afghanistan points to an internal struggle at the very top of the Taliban, the group that retook control of the country in 2021 after U.S. and allied forces withdrew. A movement long known for strict internal discipline now appears divided over how to govern, how much power to centralize, and whether to engage with the outside world.
For other governments, aid agencies and businesses, these disputes matter because they shape decisions on diplomacy, sanctions and humanitarian support. A leadership that remains closed and hardline in Kandahar could prolong Afghanistan’s isolation, push more Afghans to flee and deepen an already severe economic crisis.
For Afghans, especially women and girls, the outcome of this power struggle could determine whether bans on secondary and higher education, and on many forms of employment, remain in place or are softened. The episode also highlights how control of modern tools like the internet has become central to politics and security, even in one of the world’s poorest and most conflict-affected countries.
Key Facts & Quotes
According to a detailed Afghan-language investigation by a UK-based public broadcaster, a leaked audio recording from January 2025 captured Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada warning that internal divisions could cause the “Islamic Emirate” to collapse. The speech, delivered at a religious school in Kandahar, fed long-running rumors of a split inside the leadership.
Interviews with more than 100 current and former Taliban members and local sources, cited in that report, describe two broad camps. One, centered on Akhundzada in Kandahar, seeks a highly restrictive Islamic state, largely cut off from the modern world and tightly controlled by loyal religious figures. The other, based mostly in Kabul and including senior ministers and influential commanders, favors continued strict Islamic rule but with more engagement abroad, economic development and some access to education for girls.
The internal tension came into sharp focus in late September 2025, when Akhundzada ordered a nationwide shutdown of internet and phone services, briefly cutting Afghanistan off from the world. Multiple insiders told the broadcaster that Kabul-based leaders quietly moved to restore connections three days later, openly defying his order. One long-time analyst of the group said such disobedience was “unexpected, and notable” for a movement built on obedience to superiors.
The Internet Shutdown That Exposed Taliban Cracks:
A rare power struggle is unfolding inside the #Taliban. BBC reports that when supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada ordered Afghanistan’s internet shut down, senior Taliban figures in Kabul secretly turned it back on — directly… pic.twitter.com/AVkSROITo4
— AE News (@aenewsEnglish24) January 15, 2026
A December 2025 letter from a United Nations monitoring team to the Security Council reported that Akhundzada has consolidated power in Kandahar, building up security forces under his direct control and moving key functions, such as weapons distribution, away from Kabul. The same letter cited bans on girls’ education and women’s employment as “main sources of tension” between Kandahar and Kabul.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, speaking in early January 2026, denied any formal split, saying all ministers operate within their mandates and insisting that, “from a Sharia perspective, [the supreme leader] has the absolute power” and that his decisions are final to avoid division. He acknowledged differences of opinion but compared them to disagreements within a family.
In December 2025, the divide surfaced again in public speeches. In the eastern province of Khost, influential figure Sirajuddin Haqqani warned that any leader who gains power through the people’s “trust, love and faith” and then forgets the nation “is not a government.” The same day, higher education minister Neda Mohammad Nadem, a close Akhundzada ally, told religious students that “only one person leads and the rest follow orders,” arguing that too many leaders would “ruin” the current Islamic government.
Despite these signs of strain, experts quoted in the broadcaster’s investigation stressed that senior Taliban figures remain invested in preserving their rule. As one analyst put it, the key question is whether public disagreements will ever translate into real policy change: “They haven’t yet.”
What It Means for You
For readers in the United States and elsewhere, this story is a reminder that Afghanistan’s future remains uncertain nearly five years after the foreign troop withdrawal. A more isolated, hardline leadership in Kandahar could mean continued restrictions on aid operations, limited cooperation on issues like terrorism and narcotics, and more pressure on neighboring countries as Afghans seek work and safety abroad.
If the more pragmatic Kabul-based leaders gain influence, there could eventually be openings for increased humanitarian access, economic projects and limited engagement on education and women’s rights. Either path will affect how governments, charities and international organizations choose to work in Afghanistan, and how tax dollars are spent on aid and regional security.
For many families watching global news, the internal direction of the Taliban also matters for broader stability: it can influence migration flows, regional tensions and the risk that Afghanistan again becomes a base for international extremist groups.
Sources: Afghan-language investigation by a UK public broadcaster based on more than 100 interviews, published January 15, 2026; United Nations Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team letter to the UN Security Council on Afghanistan, December 2025; public statements by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid and senior Taliban figures in late 2025 and early 2026.
