Taliban Leadership Seeking to Remove Juma Khan Fateh from Darwazas Region

Local sources report that the Taliban are attempting to remove influential commander Juma Khan Fateh from his de facto control of the Darwazas region in Badakhshan province. The disputes are rooted in gold mining activities in the area.

The Taliban leadership has proposed Ghulamullah, a brigade commander in Faryab, as his replacement for the unofficial title of General Commander of Darwazas. This comes as part of efforts to address the ongoing tensions.

Senior Taliban officials Fasihuddin Fitrat, the army chief of staff, and Amanuddin, the governor of Helmand, have arrived in Faizabad. They are tasked with managing the crisis and carrying out an arrest order against Juma Khan Fateh.

Negotiations conducted with Fateh in the Nesi district of Darwazas have not yielded results. Fateh was recently appointed as the Taliban deputy governor of Zabul but maintains significant local influence in Darwazas, where he is said to command approximately 10,000 armed individuals.

The core of the conflict involves control over gold mining extraction in Badakhshan province. The developments highlight internal challenges within the Taliban regarding regional power dynamics and command structures in the area.