On June 24, the Taliban’s Voice of Jihad website released another message from Sirajuddin Haqqani, a close ally of al Qaeda who serves as the deputy emir of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Haqqani has repeatedly provided guidance to the group’s fighters, governors and judges throughout their latest offensive in Afghanistan. His latest message is addressed to the Taliban “military officials” overseeing the jihadists’ “continuous series of conquests.”
Haqqani knows that the jihadists can be unruly and prone to violent excesses. So, he advises the Taliban’s “district and provincial governors” to “pay attention to the instructions of” of the group’s leadership, namely the Amir ul-Momineen (“Emir of the Faithful”) Haibatullah Akhundzada and the Taliban’s military commission.
This is a “testing period” for the jihadists, Haqqani explains, as the campaign is evolving from a “military and jihadi” one into a “civilian situation.”
