Afghanistan: the supreme leader of the Taliban attends an assembly of religious dignitaries
Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada posing for a photo.
It was taken at an undisclosed location and released on May 25, 2016. AFP - STR
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The supreme leader of the Taliban, Hibatullah Akhundzada, appeared in public on Friday July 1 in Kabul, where he attended an assembly of religious dignitaries convened by the regime to consolidate his power.
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Hibatullah Akhundzada
, who has never been filmed or photographed in public since the Taliban came to power in August, and usually lives in seclusion in Kandahar, in the south of the country, their spiritual center, then spoke to the assembly.
His arrival, broadcast on state radio, was greeted with cheers and songs to the glory of the Taliban, such as "
long life to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
", the official name of the regime.
More than 3,000 religious and tribal leaders have gathered since Thursday in the capital for a three-day grand council intended to legitimize the power in place.
The Afghan press had been speculating for several days about the possible participation of Mr. Akhundzada in this event.
Only audio recordings of him had so far been made public since August, without being able to be authenticated by an independent source.
►Also read: Afghanistan: the Taliban supreme leader orders to "eradicate" traitors within the movement
Despite his discretion, Mr. Akhundaza, who would be in his 70s, holds the movement with an iron fist, according to analysts, and bears the title of “Commander of the Faithful”.
The gathering, the largest since the Taliban took power, comes a week after an earthquake struck the southeast of the country and left more than 1,000 dead and tens of thousands homeless.
No women
No women were allowed to participate in this assembly.
The Taliban felt this was unnecessary as they are represented by male relatives.
A Taliban source told AFP earlier this week that participants would be allowed to criticize the regime and that thorny issues, such as girls' education, a subject of debate within the movement itself, would be on the program.
The Taliban surrounded this gathering with strong security measures.
But on Thursday, two armed men still managed to approach the place of the meeting, at Kabul Polytechnic University, before being shot.
According to Taliban officials, they began firing from the roof of a nearby building, before being "quickly eliminated".
“Obedience, the most important”
They provided few details about what is described as a "jirga", a traditional assembly of elders in which differences should normally be settled by consensus.
The media were denied access, but some speeches were broadcast on state radio, most calling for unity behind the regime.
"
Obedience is the most important principle
," said Habibullah Haqqani, who holds the presidency, at the opening of the council.
"
We must obey all our leaders in all matters sincerely and truly
," he said.
From the council rostrum, an influential imam said anyone trying to overthrow the regime should be beheaded.
"
This Taliban flag was not raised easily, and it will not be lowered easily
," said Mujib ur Rahman Ansari, the imam of the Gazargh mosque in Herat, in the west of the country.
"
All religious scholars in Afghanistan should agree...that anyone who commits any act against our Islamic government should be beheaded and eliminated
," he said.
►Also read: Taliban: where do Afghanistan's new strongmen come from?
(
With
AFP)
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Afghanistan
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