Following reports of Abbas Stanekzai's departure from the country before his arrest on the orders of the Taliban leader, he said that he had no dispute with Hibatullah Akhundzada and had gone to recuperate after contracting an illness.
According to an audio file provided to Afghanistan International on Monday, the Taliban's deputy foreign minister, said that he had been "infected with a coronavirus-like disease" and that was why he had "gone to rest".
He did not mention that he left Afghanistan and went to Dubai after fearing arrest, but accused the media of spreading "false propaganda" in this regard.
Reliable sources told Afghanistan International on Monday that Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada had ordered Stanekzai's exit ban and arrest, but he was able to leave Kabul with the help of Mullah Yaqoob Mujahid, the Taliban's defence minister. Apparently, he has become angry with Stanekzai because of his harsh and unprecedented criticism of the Taliban leader.
After the publication of the Afghanistan International report, Zia Ahmad Takal, a spokesman for the Taliban's Foreign Ministry, told local media, without mentioning the report, that "there is no disagreement among Taliban officials and Stanekzai has gone to rest".
In the audio file, Abbas Stanekzai said that he was unable to personally respond to the reports due to his severe illness. He also said that he had asked the Taliban's Foreign Ministry spokesman to respond to these reports.
In the audio message, he clarified, "There is no disagreement between me and the Supreme Leader. Everything is calm."
Abbas Stanekzai's harsh and unprecedented statements against Hibatullah Akhundzada about the "un-Islamic" deprivation of women's rights have angered the Taliban leader. Stanekzai said that the closure of schools and universities for girls is unjust and illegitimate.
Speaking at a graduation ceremony for students of a madrassa in Khost Province recently, Stanekzai said that the Taliban has been "acting against Sharia" and had ignored the rights of 20 million of Afghanistan's population (women).
He strongly criticised the ban on girls' education, stressing that the Taliban's decision has no religious basis and only reflects Hibatullah Akhundzada's personal viewpoint.
He said that this decision has caused the world to turn against the Taliban.
Although there have been numerous reports of disagreements between Taliban officials and the group's leader over the ban on women's education, members of the group insist that all Taliban officials obey Hibatullah Akhundzada's orders. At least two senior Taliban officials, Sirajuddin Haqqani and Abbas Stanekzai, have warned of the consequences of the group's leader's policies, without naming him.
