Taliban Minister Blames Afghanistan’s Ethnic Divisions on Foreign Interference

DID Press: Noorullah Noori, the Taliban’s acting minister for Borders, Ethnicities and Tribal Affairs, has claimed that ethnic divisions in Afghanistan were largely the result of interference by foreign intelligence networks and what he described as “occupiers.”

Noori said there were currently no divisions among Afghanistan’s ethnic communities and claimed that people across the country had made significant sacrifices for the establishment and continuation of the Taliban’s current system.

According to the Taliban minister, many ethnic disputes in Afghanistan’s past were driven by external actors and foreign intelligence networks. He argued that changes in Afghanistan’s political circumstances had removed the conditions that previously fuelled such divisions.

Noori further claimed that there was now no basis for opposition among Afghanistan’s ethnic groups and that the country’s population had come together under the existing political system.

The remarks reflect the Taliban’s position on national unity and foreign involvement in Afghanistan. However, Noori’s assertion that past ethnic divisions were primarily caused by foreign interference represents his political assessment and has not been independently established as fact. Noori has served as the Taliban’s acting minister for Borders and Tribal Affairs since the group returned to power in 2021.