Sirajuddin Haqqani resurfaces after 50 days amid claims of resignation

Taliban denies resignation reports as Haqqani reappears in Khost

On 14 March 2025, prominent Afghan and Pakistani news outlets, journalists, and media activists published claims that Sirajuddin Haqqani had stepped down from his position as the Taliban’s interior minister.

Speculation of Haqqani’s resignation follows sustained rumours of ongoing friction between the Taliban’s Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and his supporters in Kandahar, and the relatively more pragmatic, Kabul-based Taliban faction. In occasional speeches, Haqqani has publicly opposed the concentration of power in Kandahar, likely indicative of growing tensions between him and the Supreme Leader. In December 2024, Haqqani implicitly addressed Akhundzada, advising that rulers should not impose their will on people.

Speculations over the intra-Taliban rifts have increased this year following a series of incidents, including the disappearance of Sirajuddin Haqqani from the public eye. On 22 January 2025, the United Nations Security Council stated that it had approved a travel ban exemption for Sirajuddin Haqqani from 23 January to 3 February 2025 for his travel to Saudi Arabia, allegedly for pilgrimage.

His relative absence from the media, as well as his office shortly afterwards, continued to raise speculations regarding potentially serious divides between Haqqani and the Taliban Supreme Leader. On 5 March 2025, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid claimed that Haqqani had returned to Afghanistan and was on sick leave.

On 14 March 2025, Sirajuddin Haqqani reportedly reappeared in Khost after a 50-day absence, with videos showing him at Friday prayers. AW geolocated the mosque to Khost’s Nadir Shah Kot district [Figure below]. Although it is not possible to verify the time of the video, it does not appear to be recycled footage and the weather seen in the videos is consistent with conditions at the claimed time and date.

Involvement of Pakistani media outlets in circulating claims of Haqqani’s resignation

Concurrent with his reappearance, many social media posts claimed that Haqqani had stepped down as the Taliban’s Interior Minister. AW noticed a significant presence of Pakistani media outlets among accounts spreading the allegations, including the prominent GEO News and ARY News outlets, as well as political and military activists. Many speculated about further tensions and the fall of the Taliban regime. The influence of Pakistani media outlets in such speculation on intra-Taliban rifts comes in the context of relatively poor relations between the Taliban and Pakistan’s current administration.

Taliban denial of claims of Haqqani’s resignation

On 16 March 2025, pro-Taliban media The Voice of Hindukush, attempted to deny reports of Haqqani’s resignation, citing sources from the Taliban’s Interior Ministry. The outlet also quoted Taliban sources accusing the Pakistani media of spreading false stories and rumours, as an effort to undermine trust and unity among Afghans. Several Taliban and pro-Taliban users on X (formerly Twitter) criticised Pakistani media for spreading supposed lies regarding Haqqani’s resignation.

On 17 March 2025, MoI spokesperson Abdul Mateen Qani told the media that Sirajuddin Haqqani had not resigned, and asked media outlets not to spread “false and far-from-truth propaganda”.

Continuation of tensions between Haqqani and Akhundzada

On 16 March 2025, Afghan journalist Sami Yousufzai, citing alleged access to Taliban sources, refuted the reports concerning Haqqani’s resignation, adding that the rumours originated in Kandahar, and claiming that both Haqqani and Hibatullah are impossible to remove. He cited sources within the Taliban who had allegedly claimed that Sirajuddin Haqqani had not resigned from his post, but had told Akhundzada that unless serious reforms were made to the Taliban administration, he would not be accountable to the Supreme Leader as a government official.

Haqqani has, on multiple occasions, made claims demanding mercy for the people of Afghanistan from its Taliban rulers, and has indirectly advocated for modern education to both men and women. He has also made public statements opposing the monopoly of power and religion held by the Supreme Leader.

Other commentators have also speculated that even if Haqqani had not resigned, his absence from the Taliban security meeting in Kandahar on 14 March 2025 was, nonetheless, a sign of the serious tensions between the group.