ISLAMABAD (AP) – The Taliban’s lone supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada urged its officials to put aside their differences and serve Afghanistan properly, according to a written statement issued 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.
Akhundzada, an Islamic scholar who almost never appears in public, rarely leaves the Taliban heartland in the southern province of Kandahar. He and his entourage were instrumental in imposing restrictions on women and girls, sparking international outcry and isolating the Taliban on the world stage.
Its message was broadcast in seven languages, including Uzbek and Turkmen – the Taliban are courting cash-rich Central Asian countries for investment and legitimacy – and it touched on diplomatic relations, the economy, justice, charity and the virtues of meritocracy.
Akhundzada said Taliban officials 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 in the late 1990s. 1990.
Akhundzada, 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, a professor at the National Defense University in Washington DC and author of “Return of the Taliban”, said Akhundzada’s message seemed “largely reasonable” and focused on issues of governance and counter-terrorism. corruption.
“I believe this message is carefully crafted to dispel the negative impression created by a recently released audio that gives a very dogmatic and regressive message, particularly on public sanctions and women’s rights,” Abbas told The Associated Press. 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.
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