Taliban No. 2 Baradar Injured in Internal Conflict Shooting... Government Formation Likely Delayed

Gunfight with Taliban-affiliated militant group Haqqani Network
Emergency transfer to Pakistan... Next government announcement likely delayed

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Abdul Ghani Baradar, known as the second-in-command of the Afghan armed faction Taliban, has reportedly been seriously injured in a shooting incident caused by internal conflicts within the Taliban and was urgently transferred to Pakistan for treatment. As the power struggle over the formation of the new government intensifies, the official launch of the Taliban government is expected to be further delayed.

According to Indian local media such as the Times of India on the 6th (local time), Baradar was seriously injured in a shooting in the capital Kabul on the 3rd and was urgently transferred to Pakistan for treatment. Baradar was reportedly injured during a shooting incident that broke out during talks with members of the Haqqani Network, an armed group under the Taliban.

According to the Afghan local media Panjshir Observer, Baradar's side and the Haqqani Network side had a shooting confrontation after showing differences over the issue of the Panjshir resistance forces. Panjshir is the last stronghold of the anti-Taliban resistance forces, and Baradar argued that attacks should be restrained as much as possible and resolved peacefully, while the Haqqani Network side insisted on the need for a hard crackdown.

The Haqqani Network is a military organization established during the Soviet-Afghan war in the 1980s and is currently known to be building a hardline faction under the Taliban. The Haqqani Network led a truck bomb attack in Kabul in 2017, killing 150 people.

Although they appeared to be disputing over the handling of the Panjshir resistance forces on the surface, it is known that there were serious disagreements over the selection of the new government's supreme leader and presidential position. Earlier, it was reported that the Taliban were discussing the establishment of an Iranian-style theocratic system centered on the supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada.

The Taliban have not yet made an official statement, and the schedule for announcing the new government cabinet, which was supposed to be announced on the 3rd, has been delayed. The Taliban side has stated that they plan to announce it within this week, but it is expected to be difficult due to the intensifying internal power struggle.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.