Published: Just now
The top leader of the Taliban movement in Afghanistan has made a rare statement through a published audio clip. “Justice” is the key word if their extremist rule is to last, according to him.
– But if there is no justice but only oppression, selfishness, murder and revenge, as well as extrajudicial killing, then this country will perish, says Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, who is almost never seen in public.
To avoid that, religious leaders in the country need to make the right decisions, continues Akhundzada, who advocates a strict interpretation of Sharia. It is he who is behind the ever-increasing restrictions on women’s rights in the country.
Akhundzada has been the Taliban’s top spiritual leader since 2016. He sticks almost entirely to the Taliban’s stronghold in Kandahar province, and since the movement regained power in Afghanistan last summer, he has visited Kabul only once. Then he spoke before an audience of religious leaders, but had his back turned to them and was not photographed.
As far as is known, there is only one photo of Akhundzada and it is many years old.
The audio clip published on Thursday was posted on social media by the Taliban movement’s main spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid. It has not been possible to confirm whether it is actually Hibatullah Akhundzada who is heard in it.