Non-Pashtun Taliban Members Warn of Split Up If Insults Against Tajik Commander Continue

Following Abdulhamid Khorasani's protest against "Taliban ethnocentrism," several non-Pashtun Taliban members warned that if the insults against him continue, they will split up from the Taliban.

This Tajik-origin commander, through a video, supported the protests in Badakhshan and opposed the suppression of protesters.

The people of Badakhshan, following the murder of two residents in Darayim and Argo districts, launched widespread protests against the Taliban.

The residents of Badakhshan said that non-local Taliban members entered the privacy of people's homes "under the pretext of destroying poppy fields," "harassed women," and killed two residents of these districts.

With the continuation and expansion of protests in Badakhshan, the Taliban sent a military delegation led by Fasihuddin Fitrat, the group’s Chief of Staff of Army, to Badakhshan.

Local residents informed Afghanistan International that the Taliban sent hundreds of fighters with light and heavy equipment "to suppress protests" in Darayim, Argo, and Jurm districts on Wednesday.

However, Khorasani, supporting the protests in Badakhshan, advised Fitrat to prevent the group's army from attacking the people of Badakhshan.

He also urged the Taliban to punish the perpetrators of the killings of two local residents in Badakhshan. In an audio file obtained by Afghan International, he stated, "If the [Taliban] regime is ethnic and biased, I will not serve for a moment."

However, some non-Pashtun Taliban, along with this Tajik-origin Taliban commander, have warned of separation from the Taliban if the insults against Khorasani continue. In a video file, they stated, "The Islamic Emirate [Taliban] is not anyone's personal property. We must all be united. We are one nation, including Hazaras, Tajiks, Uzbeks, and Pashtuns."