Afghanistan’s Taliban-appointed Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani is reportedly seeking to take under his control the most promising economic projects, primarily the construction of the Afghan section of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, a UN report has said.

The fourteenth report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team of the 1988 Taliban Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council said that discord among Taliban officials over the distribution of positions in the de facto state apparatus and provincial administrations is “significant”.

“Disagreements are reportedly rife between acting Interior Minister and leader of the Haqqani Network, Sirajuddin Haqqani and acting First Deputy Prime Minister, Mullah Baradar,” the report, issued here on Friday, said.

It added that while Baradar has “less influence” in government, he retains the support of southern provincial administrations. In addition, Baradar is seeking to control the process for the Taliban gaining international recognition, unfreezing Afghan assets abroad and expanding foreign assistance. “The conflict revolves around competition for positions in government and control of financial and natural resources and channels for smuggling commercial goods,” the report said.

A footnote accompanying this observation said that “Sirajuddin Haqqani is reportedly seeking to take under his control the most promising economic projects, primarily the construction of the Afghan section of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan- Pakistan-India gas pipeline.”

The 1,814-km natural gas pipeline originates from Turkmenistan and passes through Afghanistan and Pakistan to reach India.

Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India signed an Inter Government Agreement (IGA) and Gas Pipeline Framework Agreements (GPFA) in December 2010 for the development of the pipeline.

The construction work began in 2015 but made little progress due to instability in Afghanistan.