Kabul, September 13: Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Taliban government in Afghanistan, confirmed in an audio message on Monday that he is alive and not injured. The message, tweeted by Taliban spokesperson Mohammad Naeem, follows reports that Baradar was injured or killed in clashes among the Taliban, Tolo News reported.

"Taliban spokesman says rumours of the killing of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban's Deputy PM, is not true. He has been saying the same thing about Haibatullah Akhundzada for the past 2 years, but so far in the past 2 years, no one saw him or heared from him until now," a Twitterati said. Taliban Will Not Allow Any Country, Including Pakistan, to Interfere in Afghanistan's Internal Affairs, Says Spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid.

Earlier reports said that Faiz Hameed, the head of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), had rushed to Kabul following a clash between Baradar and Haqqani-supported groups in which Baradar sustained injuries.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 13, 2021 10:49 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).