Taliban leader warns of collapse if internal divisions persist

Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, in his Eid al-Adha sermon, delivered Saturday in Kandahar, from which only an audio recording was released, warned that disunity, disobedience and internal power struggles could bring down the Taliban’s rule.

According to the 45-minute audio posted by the Taliban’s chief spokesman, Akhundzada cautioned that the Taliban rule would face collapse if its members failed to uphold discipline and cohesion.

“If injustice arises among us, if we seek positions to build our own status, power, and prestige, and treat public funds as spoils for personal use, and you begin to distrust us and disobey us — and we begin to distrust you — then this system will collapse, and this security will turn into insecurity,” he said.

Akhundzada called for obedience to leadership and claimed that foreign efforts were underway to destabilize the Taliban’s rule.

“The world is watching you. It cannot tolerate your unity. Various efforts have been launched to disrupt this system. They speak ill of it. Brothers, this system is now an Islamic and Sharia-based system. It is not a democracy. Democracies have come and gone here. Now, they are trying to bring democracy back again. But we have experienced it — democracy is not the path to salvation and success for humanity. Islam and Sharia are the path to success,” he said.

The comments come amid mounting signs of internal divisions within the Taliban — particularly between Kandahar-based hardliners and Kabul-based political leaders, including figures linked to the Haqqani network.

This year’s Eid prayers appeared to reflect those internal fault lines. While Akhundzada led prayers in Kandahar, three separate ceremonies were held across the country — most notably, two in Kabul just meters apart.

At Sapidar Palace, Taliban’s former deputy chief minister and current refugee minister, Abdul Kabir, led one of the gatherings, joined by senior Taliban officials including Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, Taliban Vice and Virtue Minister Khalid Hanafi, Taliban Industry Minister Abdul Latif Mansoor, and several foreign diplomats. Kabir, who has close ties to the Haqqani network, has refused to relocate his office to the refugee ministry’s headquarters and continues to operate from Sapidar — a move widely viewed as a political statement.

Just across a wall, at the Arg (Presidential) Palace, a second prayer was led by Taliban chief minister Hasan Akhund, with deputy chief ministers Abdul Ghani Baradar and Abdul Salam Hanafi present. That gathering appeared to reflect the Kandahar-aligned faction of the leadership.

Notably absent from all ceremonies was Taliban Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, a key rival of Akhundzada and one of the most powerful figures in the movement. Haqqani had recently reappeared in public after months of silence, but his absence from Eid prayers fueled further speculation about his standing within the leadership.

Analysts say the parallel gatherings serve as visible markers of Taliban factionalism, echoing the dual power structures seen in previous Afghan governments, when Sapidar and the Arg served as rival centers of influence.

Despite tensions at the top, Eid celebrations across Afghanistan brought moments of unity among citizens. In Kabul and beyond, Afghans attended prayers, performed animal sacrifices, and gathered with relatives to mark the holiday.

Akhundzada issued a similar warning earlier this year, cautioning during Eid al-Fitr that failure to follow his leadership could lead to internal strife and the downfall of the Taliban’s rule.

The United Nations and multiple independent reports have documented internal divisions within the Taliban, particularly between the Kandahar leadership and the Haqqani faction. The Taliban have repeatedly rejected such claims, calling them politically motivated and without merit.