The U.S. outlet The Media Line, citing a Taliban Interior Ministry official, reported that Muttasim Agha Jan, a founding member of the Taliban and its former finance minister, has been detained on the orders of Hibatullah Akhundzada.
According to the report, Agha Jan was detained over efforts to form a joint council of religious scholars from Afghanistan and Pakistan aimed at fostering lasting peace between the Taliban and Islamabad.
The source said he was pursuing an initiative that conflicted with Akhundzada’s policies.
The report added that Agha Jan had also been pressing senior Taliban officials to take decisive action against Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The Media Line said he was detained in Kandahar by a special intelligence unit responsible for the security of Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada.
The U.S. outlet described his detention as indicative of internal divisions within the Taliban leadership.
Agha Jan was a close associate of Mullah Mohammad Omar, the Taliban’s founder, and served as the group’s finance minister before the September 11 attacks. He was also a key member of the Quetta Shura.
A source from the Taliban Interior Ministry told The Media Line that he was also a strong critic of the Taliban’s so-called “hostage diplomacy,” a policy under which the group is accused of detaining foreign nationals to gain political and financial concessions.
The Taliban has not yet officially commented on his reported detention.
Observers say the move signals that the Taliban leadership in Kandahar is unwilling to act against the TTP.
This is not the first time the Taliban has detained or moved to detain senior members.
Abbas Stanikzai, a senior Taliban figure, fled the country after criticizing the group’s policies on women’s and girls’ education amid fears he would soon be arrested. He has been living abroad for more than a year.
