(Islamabad) Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has urged his leaders to put aside their differences and serve Afghanistan properly, according to a written statement issued on Saturday ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holiday. , marking the end of Ramadan.
Public dissent within the Taliban is rare, but some senior officials have expressed disagreement with the leaders’ decision-making process, particularly the ban on women’s education.
Leader Akhundzada, an Islamic scholar who almost never appears in public, rarely leaves the Taliban stronghold in the southern province of Kandahar. He and his entourage were instrumental in imposing restrictions on women and girls, sparking an international outcry and isolating the Taliban on the world stage.
His message addressed diplomatic relations, the economy, justice, charity and the virtues of meritocracy.
Hibatullah Akhundzada stressed that Taliban leaders should “live a fraternal life among themselves, avoid disagreements and selfishness.”
He said the war against the Soviet invasion and communism failed due to disagreements within the Taliban and that they could not implement Sharia law in Afghanistan because of these divisions.
Although he mentioned education, he said nothing about the reopening of schools and universities for girls and women.
Nor did he refer to recent unconfirmed reports that there was a resumption of the stoning to death of Afghan women for adultery, a punishment already inflicted during the first period of Taliban rule at the end of the 1990s.
The Taliban supreme leader, in Saturday’s message, said security does not come from “being tough and killing more; rather, security is aligned with Sharia law and justice.”
Hassan Abbas, professor at the National Defense University in Washington DC and author of “Return of the Taliban”, noted that Akhundzada’s message seemed “largely reasonable” and focused on issues of governance and counter-terrorism. corruption.
“I think this message is carefully designed to dispel the negative impression created by a recently released audio document featuring him, which gives a very dogmatic and regressive message, particularly on public sanctions and women’s rights,” he said. analyzed Mr. Abbas in an interview with the Associated Press. “I think this new message is also about damage control. »
Also on Saturday, the Taliban-controlled Supreme Court said six people, including a woman, had been publicly flogged for adultery in the eastern Logar province.