KABUL (Amu tv) : Abdul Kabir, the Taliban’s acting minister for refugees, has turned the Sapedar Palace into his personal power base and has no plans to relocate his office to the Ministry of Refugees anytime soon, according to two local sources familiar with the matter.
On Sunday, March 30, Kabir was seen leading Eid al-Fitr prayers near the presidential palace alongside foreign diplomats and members of the Taliban cabinet, underscoring his continued presence in the high-security Sapedar complex — once the seat of Afghanistan’s former executive leadership and peace council.
Eighty days ago, Kabir was removed from his position as deputy prime minister for political affairs by order of Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and reassigned as acting minister for refugees. Yet in the time since, no images or reports have emerged confirming his presence at the Ministry of Refugees.
Instead, Kabir has continued to operate from Sapedar Palace, holding meetings and hosting dignitaries — signaling, analysts say, a consolidation of influence that extends far beyond his current official portfolio.
In his Eid sermon, Kabir praised what he described as the Taliban’s accomplishments over the past three and a half years, claiming the Taliban had delivered on its promises of “full Islamic governance, reconstruction, economic growth, and active diplomacy with the international community, especially regional partners.” He added that the Taliban’s “economy-driven policy” supports regional projects and international cooperation.
Records of Kabir’s recent meetings, reviewed by Amu, suggest that his activities have far exceeded the scope of refugee affairs. He has engaged in discussions on security, counter-narcotics efforts, governance, and economic policy. Just two days ago, he met at Sapedar Palace with Rahmatullah Mohammad, the Taliban’s commander of the 209th Al-Fath Army Corps, and Bakhtiar Muaz, the Taliban governor for Maidan Wardak province, to discuss the security situation.
Kabir is seen as a key figure within the Haqqani network and a close ally of Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban’s interior minister. Analysts believe Kabir’s continued presence in Sapedar reflects the enduring power struggle between the Kandahar-based leadership around Hibatullah and the Haqqani faction, headquartered in eastern Afghanistan.
“These meetings show that the internal disputes within the Taliban have not subsided,” said Momin Zia Badakhshi, a legal affairs analyst. “Hibatullah’s recent remarks in Kandahar also suggest that ideological divisions within the Taliban are becoming more pronounced and may eventually threaten its internal cohesion.”
Earlier, sources close to Kabir and the Haqqani network told Amu that Kabir had decided, after consultations with allies, to continue his work from Sapedar Palace. They added that this decision may be why Hibatullah has yet to appoint a new deputy prime minister for political affairs.