Afghanistan International sources reported that Abbas Stanekzai, the Taliban's deputy foreign minister, has left Afghanistan after Hibatullah Akhundzada issued an exit ban and arrest warrant against him.
According to these sources, Yaqoob Mujahid, the Taliban's defence minister, provided the conditions for his immediate visit to Dubai.
A well-informed source in Kabul said that after Abbas Stanekzai harshly criticised Hibatullah Akhundzada for banning girls' education, the Taliban leader ordered Abdul Haq Wasiq, the head of intelligence, to arrest Stanekzai and ban him from leaving the country.
After receiving the order, Wasiq contacted Defence Minister Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid, who is considered one of Abbas Stanekzai's main supporters in the Taliban structure.
According to these sources, the Taliban's defence minister asked him to leave Afghanistan immediately after learning of the Taliban leader's decision to arrest and ban Stanekzai from leaving Afghanistan.
The Taliban has not yet officially commented on the matter.
However, a source close to the Taliban's deputy foreign minister, in an interview with Afghanistan International, denied that "there is a dispute between Hibatullah and Stanekzai". The source said that Abbas Stanekzai had planned to publish a video about the incident, but was unable to do so due to the illness he suffered.
The source close to Stanekzai added that the Deputy Foreign Minister has asked Zia Ahmad Takal, the Deputy Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to take a position on this issue.
In a speech on Saturday, January 18, at the graduation ceremony of students of a religious school in Khost Province, Abbas Stanekzai, the Taliban's deputy foreign minister, said that the Taliban are "acting against Sharia" and have ignored the rights of 20 million of Afghanistan's population (women).
He stressed that the Taliban's decision to close schools and universities to girls has no religious basis, and that the ban is only Hibatullah Akhundzada's personal view.
Abbas Stanekzai's remarks about injustice against women have been widely reflected in the international media. Reuters called the comments one of the harshest public criticisms of the policy that has led to the Taliban's international isolation.
CNN also described Abbas Stanekzai's harsh remarks as "rare public criticism of the policies" of Hibatullah Akhundzada.
An analyst told CNN that Stanekzai's recent speech went beyond his previous criticisms. "Stanekzai has publicly called for a change in policies and questioned the legitimacy of the current approach," he said.
The Economist Times, referring to Stanekzai's previous criticisms, wrote that this time he addressed Hibatullah Akhundzada directly and asked him to change his policies.
