KABUL — The
Taliban’s reclusive supreme leader Hibatullah
Akhundzada called Friday for the world to stop telling them how to run
Afghanistan, insisting Sharia (Islamic law) was the only model for a successful
Islamic state.
اضافة اعلان
Akhundzada, who has not been filmed or photographed
in public since the Taliban returned to power in August, was addressing a major
gathering of religious scholars in the
Afghan capital called to rubber-stamp
the hardline Islamist group’s rule.
More than 3,000 clerics have gathered in Kabul since
Thursday for the three-day men-only meeting, and Akhundzada’s appearance had
been rumoured for days — although media are barred from covering the event.
“Why is the world interfering in our affairs?” he
asked in an hour-long speech broadcast by state radio.
“They say ‘why don’t you do this, why don’t you do
that?’ Why does the world interfere in our work?”
Akhundzada rarely leaves Kandahar, the Taliban’s
birthplace and spiritual heartland, and apart from one undated photograph and
several audio recordings of speeches, has almost no digital footprint.
But analysts say the former sharia court judge has
an iron grip on the movement and he bears the title “commander of the
faithful”.
His arrival at the meeting hall was greeted with
cheers and chants, including “Long live the Islamic
Emirate of Afghanistan”,
the Taliban’s name for the country.
Akhundzada’s appearance comes a week after a
powerful earthquake struck the east of the country, killing more than 1,000
people and leaving tens of thousands homeless.
No women are attending the clerics’ meeting, but a
Taliban source told AFP this week that thorny issues such as girls’ education —
which has divided opinion in the movement — would be discussed.
No mention of girls’ schooling
Akhundzada did not mention
the subject in his speech, which was confined largely to telling the faithful
to strictly observe Islamic principles in life and governance.
Since the Taliban’s return, secondary school girls
have been barred from education and women dismissed from government jobs,
forbidden from travelling alone, and ordered to dress in clothing that covers
everything but their faces.
The Taliban have also outlawed playing non-religious
music, banned the portrayal of human figures in advertising, ordered TV
channels to stop showing movies and soap operas featuring uncovered women, and
told men they should dress in traditional garb and grow their beards.
In Geneva on Friday, the
UN human rights chief urged
the Taliban to look to other Muslim countries for inspiration on improving the
rights of women in a religious context.
Addressing an urgent council debate on the situation
of women and girls in Afghanistan,
Michelle Bachelet said they were
“experiencing the most significant and rapid roll-back in enjoyment of their
rights across the board in decades”.
“I strongly encourage the de facto authorities to
engage with predominantly Muslim countries with experience in promoting women
and girls’ rights, as guaranteed in international law, in that religious
context,” she said.
Akhundzada said the Taliban had won victory for
Afghanistan, but it was up to the “ulema” — the religious scholars — to advise
the new rulers on how to properly implement Sharia.
“The sharia system comes under two parts — scholars
and rulers,” he said.
“If scholars do not advise authorities to do good,
or the rulers close the doors against the scholars, then we will not have an
Islamic system.”
Believed to be in his 70s, Akhundzada spoke in
strong measured tones, occasionally coughing or clearing his throat.
He warned that non-Muslim nations would always be
opposed to a pure Islamic state, so the faithful had to endure hardships to get
what they wanted.
“You have to compete, you have to endure hardships;
... the present world will not easily accept you implementing the Islamic
system,” he said.
Women’s rights activists have slammed their lack of
participation.
“Women should be part of the decisions about their
fate,” Razia Barakzai told AFP Thursday.
“Life has been taken away from Afghan women.”
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