The Haqqani network has appointed a member, Zain Shah Shinwari, as the head of the Afghanistan Cricket Board in place of Hamid Shinwari, who had been recently ousted from the position.
The Taliban recently fired the president of Afghanistan’s cricket association and replaced him with a member of the violent Haqqani network. This group is notorious for launching numerous brutal attacks in the nation. Hamid Shinwari said on Facebook that he was fired by Haqqani leaders, who are part of the Taliban. “I just was fired, and Anas Haqqani came to visit the cricket board to tell me to my face that my position as CEO is finished,” Shinwari shared on his Facebook page.
The younger brother of Afghanistan’s new interior minister, Sirajuddin Haqqani, Anas Haqqani is a key Taliban official.
Shinwari’s post, as reported by AFP, was disabled later in the day. It was no longer accessible when we checked the Facebook page.
Shinwari stated he requested a formal order, but he never received it according to a post in the Pashto language.
Shinwari explained that he became a member of the Cricket Board’s executive branch via an open election procedure, but he did not understand why he was fired.
A source at the cricket board, who requested anonymity, said that Naseebullah Haqqani, a close member of the Haqqani network, replaced Zia-ur-Rehman, whose real name is Naseeb Khan.
The board on Facebook stated that he holds a master’s degree and is knowledgeable about cricket.
Before the Taliban were forced out of power in 2001, they banned numerous types of entertainment, and several stadiums were utilized as execution grounds.
yet even the hard-line Islamists are fans of cricket, and this fact endears them to many of their fighters.
The prior administration forbade women from playing the game fully, and they haven’t said if women will be allowed to participate this time.
