Taliban official Stanikzai reportedly flees Afghanistan amid education dispute

On 26 January 2025, several independent anti-Taliban media outlets and journalists reported that Shir Muhammad Abbas Stanikzai, Taliban Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs, had left Kabul for Dubai. While they agreed that Stanikzai’s departure came in the context of a dispute with the Supreme Leader over girls’ access to education (see below), the details differed.

Many news sources claimed that the Supreme Leader had issued an arrest warrant for Stanikzai shortly before his departure. Others suggested that Deputy Prime Minister in Economic Affairs Mullah Baradar or Defence Minister Mullah Yaqoob had helped Stanikzai to leave the country, despite the Supreme Leader issuing a travel ban against him. Afghan journalist Bilal Sarwary echoed these claims on 27 January 2025.

Hamid Haidari, an Afghanistan International  journalist, also reported that Stanikzai had left the country despite the travel ban. Meanwhile, Hamasa Media and Hadia News claimed that Haqqani-linked Taliban members had managed to escort Stanikzai to a plane at Kabul International Airport, despite resistance there from Kandahari-linked Taliban officers. Sohail Noor Khan, a Pashtun rights activist with over 40,000 followers on X, claimed on 27 January 2025 that Stanikzai had instead fled from Khost airport.

ToloNews, which is subject to Taliban pre-censorship, quoted MoFA Public Relations Chief Hafiz Zia Ahmad on 27 January 2025, who denied reports of intra-Taliban tensions and claimed that Stanikzai was on leave, although without specifying if he had left the country. Meanwhile, Afghan journalist Sami Yousufzai was cited by Sarie News Agency, a lesser-known Afghan media outlet, on 27 January 2025 as saying that Stanikzai was unwell and resting in Afghanistan.

On 28 January 2025, Porana News and Afghanistan International claimed that Stanikzai had told the media in an audio message that he denied a rift with the Supreme Leader, and that he was on sick leave with an illness resembling COVID-19. However, Stanikzai has not specified whether he has left Kabul.

On 31 January 2025, an audio clip (11 seconds) circulated online in which Stanikzai allegedly claims the Taliban wanted to detain him “like General Mobeen”, but he managed to escape. The time and date of the audio are not known, although the background noise is consistent with it being recorded on an airplane.

General Mobeen Khan is a prominent Taliban social media influencer and a one-time Taliban spokesperson for the Kabul Police Command. The Taliban detained him several times for his posts advocating for girls’ education before he eventually left for Dubai.

In another audio recording (2:29 mins) attributed to Stanikzai, released on 30 January 2025, he warned of Afghanistan’s economic struggles and potential Taliban collapse. In yet another audio recording (1:30) that surfaced on 2 February 2025, Stanikzai allegedly urged Taliban members not to revere the Supreme Leader as if he were a prophet or a god.

Comparing the speaker’s tone of voice, as well as the nature and quality of the recording, this clip appears to have been recorded at the same time as the other clip (2:29 in length). AW noticed that in the 2:29-minute long clip, Stanikzai mentions that he is 63 years old. Since his biodata on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website claims he was 64 or 65 years old in 2025 (born in 1388, corresponding to 1959/60), this discrepancy could suggest that the recording is at least one year old.

Separately, a photo has been widely circulated online showing Stanikzai with the Taliban media influencer Mobeen Khan, who is known to have left Afghanistan for Dubai on 15 December 2024, implying they met in Dubai recently. AW was, however, unable to verify the date, location or origin of the photo.

Stanikzai’s presence in Dubai confirmed

Almost two weeks after the initial reports, on 6 February 2025, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid admitted to BBC Persian that Stanikzai had left for Dubai. Mujahid claimed that Stanikzai had gone to visit family in Dubai while also seeking treatment for a medical issue (described as persistent fever). While Mujahid denied any tensions between Stanikzai and the Taliban leadership, he stressed that Stanikzai should not have voiced his criticism in public.

A smaller exiled media outlet, France-based RASC News (with just over 1,100 followers on X as of 10 February 2025), claimed on 9 February 2025 that Stanikzai had spoken to a group of Afghan nationals in the United Arab Emirates after he fled in late January 2025.

According to RASC, Stanikzai had told the gathering that a group of 12 Taliban officials – including himself, Defence Minister Mullah Yaqoob and Interior Minister Sarajuddin Haqqani – had jointly agreed on a plan to prevent the Supreme Leader from monopolising power. The report further claimed that all of the 12 officials – except for Yaqoob – had agreed to seek to oust the Supreme Leader from power.

Background: Stanikzai offers rare public criticism on the Supreme Leader

The reported dispute appears rooted in remarks Stanikzai gave on 18 January 2025 at a graduation ceremony in Khost province. He stated that banning women and girls’ education and denying them their rights did not have a Sharia basis, calling it an injustice to half of the country’s population. He also asked for an unconditional opening of schools for girls.

The Taliban have yet to officially comment on reports of Stanikzai’s arrest warrant or whereabouts. However, several pro-Taliban users online have reshared an audio clip from February 2024, in which the Supreme Leader reportedly urges other Taliban to refrain from public criticism through the media since it would harm their “unity”. It is worth noting numerous pro-Taliban users on X have however falsely claimed that the audio was in fact recorded during a speech by the Supreme Leader at the Kandahar Jihadi Madrassa on 27 January 2025.

Misinformation from both pro- and anti-Taliban accounts

AW noted examples of misinformation around the event from both pro- and anti-Taliban accounts. Several anti-Taliban X users claimed that Stanikzai took millions of dollars with him as he left Afghanistan, although citing different numbers and without providing proof.

Meanwhile, many pro-Taliban users started spreading an edited video of a Stanikzai speech, where he talks of loyalty to a single Emir, the Supreme Leader. While these users claimed the speech was recent in an apparent attempt to counter reports of a disagreement, AW verified that the video was in fact from a Stanikzai speech at a graduation ceremony in Kabul on 18 February 2023. It was initially shared by Ahmadullah Muttaqi, Director of the Department of Information and Culture for Herat.

Afghan journalist and presenter for Voice of America Lina Rozbih also claimed that Stanikzai’s escape to Dubai was a way to seek attention and support from the US.