The Signal and the Silence: Inside the Taliban’s Internal Mutiny

KABUL — There is a specific kind of quiet that falls over a city when the internet goes dark. It’s not just the loss of TikTok or Instagram; it’s the sound of a modern economy grinding to a halt. In late September, that silence fell over Afghanistan for three days. But when the signal finally flickered back to life, it wasn't because the "Supreme Leader" had a change of heart. It was because his own ministers finally decided to stop listening to him.

If you want to understand why the Islamic Emirate is currently eating itself from the inside out, you have to look at a leaked audio file that started circulating early in 2025. In the clip, the Taliban’s reclusive chief, Hibatullah Akhundzada, sounds less like a conqueror and more like a man bracing for a fall. "The emirate will fall and end," he says, his voice thin and strained. He wasn't talking about foreign soldiers. He was talking about the guys in the suits and turbans sitting in the offices in Kabul.

The Geography of a Grudge

This isn't just a political spat; it's a war between two cities.

Down in Kandahar, you have Akhundzada and his "Old Guard." These are the hardliners who think the 1990s were the golden age. Akhundzada is a ghost—literally. He doesn’t use a smartphone, he won’t do interviews, and he issues decrees like they’re coming from a stone tablet. He wants Afghanistan to be a hermit kingdom, pure and isolated.

Then there’s Kabul. The guys here—big names like Sirajuddin Haqqani and Mullah Yaqoob—actually have to deal with the mess of running a country. They’re the ones who have to explain to the UN why people are starving and figure out how to keep the banks from collapsing. They aren't "liberals" by any stretch, but they are pragmatists. They know that a country without a digital heartbeat is a country that’s going to starve.

The Three-Day Rebellion

Everything snapped when Akhundzada ordered a total blackout of the internet and phone lines. He called it a "moral necessity." To the guys in Kabul, it was a death sentence for the state.

For seventy-two hours, the country was a black hole. But behind the scenes, something historic happened. The Kabul-based leadership—men who were raised on the idea that the Emir’s word is divine law—simply looked at the order and said "no." They pushed the Prime Minister to act, took the heat on their own shoulders, and flipped the switch back on.

This wasn't just a technical fix. It was an open rebellion. In a movement where discipline is everything, this was the equivalent of a mid-flight mutiny.

Haqqani’s Identity Crisis

Perhaps the most surreal part of this whole saga is the "new" Sirajuddin Haqqani. A few years ago, he was a shadowy figure with a multi-million dollar FBI bounty on his head. Now, he’s doing the rounds, shaking hands, and trying to look like a statesman. He’s even managed to get the U.S. to back off that bounty.

Haqqani and his Kabul allies are playing a long game. They’re betting that Akhundzada’s "purity" will eventually bankrupt the movement. They are tired of the Emir issuing edicts—like the brutal bans on women’s education—that they weren't even asked about. Kabul deals in reality; Kandahar deals in ideology. And right now, reality is winning.

The Price of the Rift

While these two factions go at each other’s throats, the ordinary Afghan is the one getting squeezed. The biggest casualty is the truth. With the internet being used as a weapon and a state-mandated blackout, nobody knows exactly how bad things are getting.

But the numbers from human rights agencies are terrifying. Between the economic collapse and the crackdown, the toll is mounting. Akhundzada is digging in his heels in the south, while the Kabul ministers are trying to salvage what’s left of the state’s credibility.

As we look at the start of 2026, the question is no longer about whether there’s a split. That’s been answered. The question is: who blinks first? The ghost in Kandahar or the pragmatists in Kabul? The internet is back on, but the connection between the Taliban’s leadership is deader than it’s ever been.

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