New Delhi: Taliban supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada makes his first public appearance in the southern city of Kandahar on Sunday, AFP reported.
Since taking control of the Taliban in 2016, Akhundzada, the spiritual head of the Islamic moment, has been a reclusive figure. He remains elusive even after the Taliban took over the war-torn country of Afghanistan in August 2021. His elusiveness gave rise to speculation about his role in the organization, even leading to rumors of his demise.
According to Taliban officials, Akhundzada had gone to the Darul Uloom Hakimah madrasa on Saturday to address “his brave soldiers and disciples”.
The incident was kept safe amidst tight security and thus no photographs or videos have surfaced, however, a 10-minute audio recording was shared by Taliban social media accounts.
In the audio recording, the supreme leader of the Taliban is referred to as “Amirul Mominen” or the commander of the loyalists. He gives a religious message to his soldiers. He further seeks God’s blessings to lead the Taliban.
With the notion of serving more as a spiritual chief than a military commander, Akhundzada’s audio recording is expected to spark speculation about his plans to play a central role in leading the Taliban’s government in Afghanistan.
Who is Akhundzada?
Haibatullah Akhundzada was chosen to succeed him in 2016 after a US drone strike killed Taliban supreme leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour. Until then, Akhundzada had a low-profile religious head in the organization.
Soon after Mullah Mansour was succeeded as leader of the Taliban, Akhundzada won the support of al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri, who praised the cleric – calling him the “Emir of the Faithful”. With the backing of the al-Qaeda chief, Akhundzada was able to seal his jihadist credentials with long-time allies of the Taliban.
After the assassination of Mullah Mansour, the Taliban moment was briefly broken due to a power struggle within the organization. Akhundzada’s first task after taking over as Supreme Leader was to unite the moment once again.
Akhundzada is believed to spend most of his time in the southern city of Kandahar, AFP reports.
In his last message on 7 September, Akhundzada called on the new government to uphold Sharia law while governing the country.
Earlier last week, Kandahar’s Taliban governor, Mullah Yousuf Wafa, informed AFP that he was in regular contact with its elusive leader.
“We have regular meetings with him on how to control the situation in Afghanistan and how to form a good government,” AFP quoted Mullah Yusuf as saying in its report.
“He gives advice to every leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and we are following his rules, advice and if our government is progressive in future it is because of his advice,” he said.
(with inputs from AFP)
.