Kabul, Jan. 16 -- Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has repeatedly warned that it is not external, but rather the threat of internal divisions, that pose the gravest threat to the survival of the Islamic Emirate, underscoring growing strains within the movement's leadership.
According to an audio recording obtained by the BBC World Service, Akhundzada told a gathering of Taliban officials in January 2025 that "the Emirate will collapse" if infighting continues.
The speech was delivered at a jihadi seminary in Kandahar and reflects an unusually blunt acknowledgment from the movement's supreme leader that cohesion, obedience and unity are now critical to its rule.
While the Taliban routinely deny the existence of internal rifts, comment...