An audio recording obtained by the BBC showed what worries the Taliban leader most.
Not an external danger, but a threat within Afghanistan, where the Taliban seized power when the previous government fell, and The Americans withdrew in 2021..
The footage showed "government insiders" fighting among themselves in the Islamic Emirate that the Taliban had established to rule the country.
In a leaked recording, Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akunjad is heard saying that internal disagreements could ultimately bring them all down.
"As a result of these divisions, the emirate will fall and end," he warned.
A speech to the Taliban at a madrasa in the southern city of Kandahar in January 2025 added fuel to the fire of rumors that had been circulating for months - rumors of differences at the top of the Taliban government.
The Taliban leadership has denied this rift from the beginning, and this was also the case when asked directly by the BBC.
But the rumours led the BBC Afghan Service to begin a year-long investigation into the highly secretive group - conducting more than 100 interviews with current and former Taliban members, as well as local sources, experts and former diplomats.
Due to the sensitivity of our reporting on this story, the BBC has agreed not to reveal their identities for the sake of their safety.
Now, for the first time, we have been able to show two clearly identifiable groups within the Taliban leadership - each of which represents a contrasting vision of Afghanistan.
One is completely loyal to Akhundzada, who, from his base in Kandahar, is pushing the country towards a vision of a strict Islamic emirate - isolated from the modern world, where religious figures loyal to him control every aspect of society.
And the other is made up of the powerful Taliban, mostly based in the capital, Kabul.
They advocate for an Afghanistan that, while still following a strict interpretation of Islam, maintains contacts with the outside world, builds the country's economy, and even allows girls access to the education they are currently denied after primary school.
One insider described it as “Kandahar House vs. Kabul House.”
But the question has always been whether the Kabul Group, made up of a Taliban cabinet minister, powerful extremists and influential religious scholars backed by thousands of Taliban loyalists, will ever challenge Akhundzada's increasingly authoritarian rule in any meaningful way, as his speech suggests.
Ultimately, according to the Taliban, Akhundzada is the group's absolute ruler - a man who answers only to Allah and is not someone whose authority can be questioned.
And then came a decision that turned a delicate tug-of-war between the most powerful people in the country into a clash of wills.
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In late September, Akhundzada issued an order to shut down the internet and telephones, cutting off Afghanistan from the rest of the world.
Three days later, the internet was back, with no explanation as to why.
But what happened behind the scenes was a seismic shake-up, insiders claim.
The Kabul group acted contrary to Akhundzada's order and turned the internet back on.
"The Taliban, unlike any other Afghan party or faction, are unique in their coherence - there are no divisions, not even rebel voices," explains an Afghanistan expert who has studied the Taliban since its inception.
“Engraved into the movement’s DNA is the principle of subordination to superiors, and ultimately to the emir [Akunjad].
"That's what made the act of turning the internet back on, against his explicit orders, so striking," said one expert.
As one Taliban insider put it: it was practically an insurgency.
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A man of faith
Hibatullah Akunjad did not begin his reign in this way.
Moreover, sources say he was elected supreme leader of the Taliban in 2016 in part because of his consensus-building approach.
Having no battlefield experience himself, he found a deputy in Sirajuddin Haqqani - a fearsome military commander, then one of the most wanted men in America with a $10 million bounty on his head.
A second deputy was found in Yakubu Mujahid, the son of Taliban founder Mullah Omar - still young, but who brought with him Taliban lineage and the potential to unify the movement.
That arrangement continued during negotiations with Washington in Doha to end the 20-year war between Taliban fighters and American-led forces.
The final agreement of 2020 ended with the Taliban's sudden and dramatic retake of the country, as well as the chaotic withdrawal of US troops in August 2021.
To the outside world, they were a united front.
But both deputies would eventually be quietly dismissed as ministers as soon as the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, with Akhundzhad now the lone centre of power, insiders told the BBC.
Even Abdul Ghani Baradar - the powerful and influential co-founder of the Taliban who led negotiations with the US - found himself in the role of deputy prime minister instead of prime minister, as many had expected.
Instead, Akhundzada - rejecting the capital where the government is based in favor of remaining in Kandahar, the Taliban's power base - began to surround himself with trusted ideologues and hardliners.
Other loyalists gained control of the country's security forces, religious politics, and parts of the economy.
"Akunjad wanted to form his own strong faction from the start," a former Taliban member who later served in the US-backed Afghan government told the BBC.
"Although he didn't have the opportunity at first, as soon as he gained power, he began to do so very skillfully, expanding his own circle with the help of authority and position."
The decrees began to be issued without consultation with Taliban ministers in Kabul and with little regard for public promises made before they took power, on issues such as girls' access to education.
The ban on education, along with work for women, remains one of the “main sources of tension” between the two groups, the UN observer body said in a letter to the Security Council in December.
Meanwhile, another insider told the BBC that Akhundzada, who started out as a judge in the Taliban's Sharia court in the 1990s, was becoming "even stricter" in his religious beliefs.
Akunjad's ideology was already such that he not only knew but also approved of his son's decision to become a suicide bomber, according to two Taliban officials after his death in 2017.
And he is convinced that making the wrong decision could have consequences that will be felt even after his death, the BBC was told.
"For every decision he makes, he says: I answer to Allah, on the Day of Judgment they will ask me why I didn't take any action," explained an official from the current Taliban government.
Two people who were in meetings with Akunjad described to the BBC that they encountered a man who barely spoke, choosing to communicate mainly through gestures, which were interpreted by a team of elderly clerics present in the room.
In more public settings, other eyewitnesses said he hid his face - covering his eyes with a scarf draped over his turban and often standing at a certain angle when addressing the audience.
Photographing or filming Akundzada is strictly prohibited.
Only two photographs of him are known to exist.
It also became increasingly difficult to arrange a meeting with him.
Another Taliban said that Akhundzada used to hold "regular consultations," but now "most Taliban ministers wait for them for days or weeks."
Another source told the BBC that ministers from Kabul were told to "go to Kandahar only if they receive an official invitation".
At the same time, Akhundzada began moving key departments to Kandahar, including the weapons distribution department, which had previously been under the control of his former deputies Haqqani and Yaqoob.
In a December letter, the UN monitoring team pointed out that Akunjad's "consolidation of power also includes the continued buildup of security forces under direct control in Kandahar."
Reports suggest that Akhundzada is issuing direct orders all the way down to local police units - bypassing ministers in Kabul.
One analyst claims that the result is a "transfer of real power to Kandahar", which Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denied to the BBC.
"All ministers have power within their own ministerial framework, carrying out daily tasks and making decisions - all power is delegated to them and they carry out their own duties," he says.
However, "from a Sharia perspective, Akunjad has absolute power," Mujahid added, saying "in order to avoid God-forbidden divisions, his decisions are final."
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People 'who have seen the world'
Dissatisfaction within the Kabul group grew, and alliances were strengthened.
"The Kabul group are people who have seen the world," one analyst told the BBC.
"Therefore, they believe that the government, in its current form, cannot survive."
The Kabul group wants to see Afghanistan moving towards the Gulf state model.
They are concerned about the accumulation of power in Kandahar, the nature and enforcement of chastity laws, how much contact the Taliban should have with the international community, and women's education and employment.
But despite advocating for more rights for Afghan women, the Kabul Group does not describe itself as moderate.
Instead, insiders see them as “pragmatic,” unofficially under the leadership of Baradar, a Taliban founder who still commands great loyalty.
He is also believed to be the "Abdul" referred to by Donald Trump as the "leader of the Taliban" during a televised debate ahead of the 2024 US presidential election.
Moreover, he was the group's chief negotiator with the US.
The Kabul Group's change of attitude did not go unnoticed.
"We remember that Taliban leaders from Kabul used to destroy television sets, but now they themselves appear on television," said one analyst.
They are also aware of the power of social networks.
Former deputy Yaqub, whose father led the Taliban during their first rule, when music and television were banned, is increasingly popular among younger Taliban members and some ordinary Afghans, evident from the enthusiasm shown in TikTok videos and souvenirs emblazoned with his image.
But no one has been more effective at rebranding himself than his colleague, former deputy Sirajuddin Haqqani.
His ability to evade capture while his network carried out some of the deadliest attacks in the Afghan war against US forces - including the 2017 truck bomb blast in Kabul that killed more than 90 civilians near the German embassy - has elevated him to near-mythical status among supporters.
During that time, there was only one photograph of him - taken by a journalist from the BBC Afghan Service.
But then, six months after the American withdrawal, Haqqani appeared before the world's cameras at a police academy graduation ceremony in Kabul, his face uncovered.
It was the first step towards creating a new image: he was no longer an extremist, but a statesman with whom the New York Times could sit down in 2024 and ask: is he Afghanistan's best hope for change?
Just a few months later, the FBI would quietly withdraw the $10 million reward offered for his capture.
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Yet analysts and insiders have repeatedly told the BBC that open opposition to Supreme Leader Akhundzada is highly unlikely.
Perhaps the most visible opposition to his decrees was minimal and limited - for example, the failure to enforce a ban on shaving beards in regions controlled by officials loyal to Kabul.
But larger acts of rebellion have always been considered unthinkable.
One former Taliban member told the BBC that "obedience to Akhundzadeh is considered an obligation."
Haqqani himself, in an interview with the New York Times, downplayed any chances of an open split.
"Unity is important for Afghanistan right now, so that we can have a peaceful country," he said.
Instead, said one analyst, the Kabul Group is choosing to send “a message to both the international community and the Afghans” that:
"We are aware of your complaints and your concerns, but what can we do about it?"
At least that's how it was before the order came to shut down the internet.
Turning point
The Taliban's supreme leader is a man of deep distrust of the internet.
He believes that his content is contrary to Islamic teachings and is so committed to this belief that every morning an advisor reads him the latest news or social media posts, his spokesman once explained to the BBC.
The Kabul group believes that a modern country cannot survive without it.
The Supreme Leader's order to shut down the internet began in provinces controlled by Akhundzada's allies, before being expanded to the entire country.
Sources close to the Kabul group and the Taliban government described what happened next - an almost indisputable moment in Taliban history.
"This caught many members of the movement by surprise," said one source.
In short, the most powerful ministers of the Kabul Group met and convinced the then Prime Minister, Mulu Hassan Akund, to issue an order to turn the internet back on.
Moreover, the group had already made its displeasure with the decree known before the internet was shut down across the country.
The group's de facto leader, Baradar, traveled to Kandahar to warn one of Akhundzada's most loyal governors that they must "wake him up," adding that they must stop being blind "obeyers" of the supreme leader.
"You don't tell him the truth openly; whatever he says, you just implement it," he said, according to a member of the Kandahar Ulema Council, a group of provincial religious leaders.
His words, the source said, were rejected.
On Monday, September 29, an order came to the Ministry of Telecommunications directly from the Supreme Leader to shut everything down.
"No excuses" will be accepted, a Ministry source told the BBC.
On Wednesday morning, a group of ministers from the Kabul Group - which included Baradar, Haqqani and Yaqoub - gathered in the prime minister's office, joined by the telecommunications minister.
They called on the prime minister loyal to Kandahar to take the initiative and cancel the order.
According to one source, they said the responsibility was entirely his.
And they succeeded. The internet was restored.
But perhaps most importantly, within days, it seemed as if what Akhunjad had hinted at in that speech months earlier had come true: insiders had undermined Taliban unity.
But where did that order come from?
One expert points out that the Taliban were happy to follow Akhundzada despite disagreeing with decrees such as the one on girls' education.
Meanwhile, many of those who opposed him earlier have paid the price.
In February 2025, the then deputy foreign minister had to flee the country after publicly warning that the leadership had “deviated from God’s path” by committing “injustice against 20 million people.”
This referred to the ban on women's education.
UN observers point to at least two others who were arrested after questioning Akunxada's decrees on girls' education, in July and September 2025.
But there is also evidence that Akhundzada and his allies are working to keep figures like Haqqani close to them - despite their public criticism of the supreme leader's consolidation of power.
However, moving from words to actions and so openly opposing the order was something else entirely.
As one expert points out, this time it may have been worth the risk.
Their positions come with power and "the ability to make money," the expert says.
But both depend on the internet, now crucial for both governance and commerce.
"Turning off the internet has threatened their privileges in a way that denying education to older girls never did," the expert points out.
"Maybe that's why they were 'brave' that one time."
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After the internet was restored, speculation began to circulate about what would happen next.
A source close to the Kabul Group suggested that ministers would be slowly replaced or dismissed.
However, a member of the Kandahar Ulema Council suggested that the supreme leader might be the one to step down "because he fears such opposition."
As the year drew to a close, it seemed to the public that nothing had changed.
The letter to the UN Security Council notes that some UN member states have "played off the division between the leaders in Kandahar and Kabul as something akin to a family feud that will not change the status quo; all senior leaders have a vested interest in the success of the Taliban enterprise."
Zabiullah Mujahid, a senior spokesman for the Taliban government, categorically denied any divisions.
"We will never allow ourselves to be divided," he told the BBC in early January 2026.
"All officials and leadership know that partition can be harmful to everyone, to the whole of Afghanistan, that it is religiously forbidden and forbidden by Allah."
However, he did acknowledge that differences in "opinion" exist among the Taliban, but compared it to "differences in opinion within a family."
In mid-December, these "differences" resurfaced.
Haqqani was filmed addressing crowds in his home province during Friday prayers, warning anyone "who comes to power through the trust, love and faith of the nation and then abandons or forgets that same nation... then he is not a true ruler."
On the same day, Akunjadi loyalist Neda Muhamed Nadem - the Minister of Higher Education - himself gave a speech to graduates at a madrasa in a neighboring province.
"Only one person leads and the others follow orders, that's a true Islamic government," he said.
"If there are too many leaders, then problems arise and this government we have achieved will be destroyed."
Following the internet controversy, these recent comments came in much different circumstances than those made by Akunjad in the leaked audio recording in early 2025.
Yet whether 2026 will be the year when the Kabul Group attempts to bring about meaningful change for the women and men of Afghanistan remains highly questionable.
"As always... the question remains after the apparent disagreement within the very top of the emirate - will words be translated into action?" says one expert.
"Not yet."
Prepared and produced by Zia Shahrejar, Flora Druri and the BBC Afghanistan Forensics Team.
The cover photo shows two Taliban watching over Kabul in January 2022.
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