Hibatullah Akhundzada, the supreme leader of the Taliban movement, on Friday urged the world to stop “interfering” in Afghan affairs and said the enforcement of Islamic law is key to the country’s success.
Akhundzade, who normally lives away from public life, spoke at the religious authorities meeting he convened in Kabul to consolidate the power of the regime.
They say, ‘Why don’t you do this, why don’t you do it’. Why does the world interfere in our business? We will not take orders from anyone. We will only submit to Allah Almighty,” he said.
More than 3,000 religious and tribal leaders have gathered in the Afghan capital since Thursday for a three-day council aimed at legitimizing the Taliban regime.
The press, who was not allowed to attend the event, speculated for days about Ahundzada’s possible participation in the council.
The Taliban leader had not been publicly filmed or photographed since the fundamentalist movement took power in August last year. Only voice messages from Akhundzada were broadcast, but there was no possibility of independent verification.
Ahundaza, who by some estimates is over 70 years old, maintains firm control over the movement, according to analysts, and holds the title of “Commander of the Believers,” despite his common sense.
The leader said the success of the regime will depend on its ability to rid itself of “corruption, selfishness, tyranny, nationalism and nepotism” that, he says, have characterized successive governments in Afghanistan over the past two decades. the previous Taliban era in power (1996-2001).
no woman
To achieve this, he said, “the time has come to apply sharia (Islamic law)”.
“With Sharia, we would have security, freedom, an Islamic system and everything we need,” he said.
The most important assembly since the Taliban took power came a week after an earthquake in the east of the country left more than 1,000 dead and tens of thousands homeless.
Women’s participation in parliament was vetoed. The Taliban felt that this was not necessary as they would be represented by the men in their families.
A Taliban source told AFP earlier this week that council participants would be allowed to criticize the government, and sensitive issues such as the education of women, which are controversial even within the movement, would be on the agenda.
In late March, the Taliban closed their girls’ high schools just hours after they reopened. The decision was an order from Akhundzade, according to various sources in the movement.
Akhundzade did not mention the subject in his speech.
“No Compromise”
The Taliban have largely reverted to the overly rigid interpretation that marked their first term in power.
They restricted the rights of women who were excluded from public office and forced to wear the headscarf in public.
They also banned non-religious music, the depiction of human faces in advertisements, and the showing of movies or TV shows that featured women without a veil. They asked the men to wear traditional clothes and grow beards.
Akhundzada told council participants that non-Muslim countries would never accept a true Islamic state and urged them to be ready to face many challenges.
“There can be no compromise between Islam and the ‘infidels’ (infidels). Neither in the past nor now,” he said.
Despite tight security around the parliament, two gunmen managed to approach the Kabul Polytechnic University, where the meeting was held, on Thursday and were killed.
Taliban sources said the two men opened fire from the roof of a nearby building but were “quickly eliminated”.
source: Noticias
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