Afghan leader hails 'security' in rare appearance to mark Eid
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Afghanistan's supreme leader appeared publicly for only the second time in six years on Sunday, telling worshippers celebrating Eid al-Fitr the Taliban had achieved freedom and security since seizing power last year.
Speaking just two days after a bomb ripped through a mosque in Kabul, an atmosphere of heightened security surrounded the man introduced as Hibatullah Akhundzada, the chief of the Taliban.
"Congratulations on victory, freedom and success," he told thousands of worshippers at the Eidgah mosque in the southern city of Kandahar, the hardline Islamist group's de facto power centre.
"Congratulations on this security and for the Islamic system."
While the number of bombings across Afghanistan has dropped since Kabul fell to the Taliban last August, attacks soared over the final two weeks of the fasting month of Ramadan, which ended Saturday for Afghans.
Dozens of civilians have been killed in the primarily sectarian attacks — some claimed by the Islamic State group — targeting members of the Shiite and Sufi Muslim communities.
Friday's bombing of a Sunni mosque in the capital killed at least 10 people.
Akhundzada delivered his brief address from one of the front rows of worshippers in Kandahar without turning to face the crowd, according to social media posts.
Taliban officials did not allow journalists to approach him, while two helicopters hovered over the mosque for the whole of the two-hour event.
Dozens of Taliban fighters were deployed where Akhundzada and other Taliban leaders were sitting and they stopped worshippers from taking their pictures on cellphones.
An AFP correspondent who reported from the mosque confirmed that the voice said to be Akhundzada's came from the front rows of worshippers.
'Biggest dream'
When the man introduced as the Taliban leader began to speak, worshippers chanted "Allahu Akbar! Long live Islamic Emirate and Long Live Akhundzada!"
Worshipper Aziz Ahmad Ahmadi said he was overwhelmed.
"I cried when I heard the voice of Sheikh Saheb (Akhundzada)... to hear him is like achieving my biggest dream," he told AFP, but added he had failed to spot the leader among the crowd.
Another Kandahar resident, Bismillah, who attended the prayers at the Eidgah mosque, said, "I'm so happy that I can't even describe it".
"I had a dream to pray alongside my supreme leader, to hear his voice or to see him."
A senior Taliban government official told AFP that he saw Akhundzada delivering the address.
"I saw him from a distance as he spoke. I even met him two days ago at his office," he said, requesting not to be named.
It was Akhundzada's second known public appearance since taking control of the Taliban in 2016.
Akhundzada's low profile has fed speculation about his role in the new Taliban government, formed after the group took control of Kabul on August 15 -- and even rumours of his death.
His public profile has largely been limited to the release of messages during Islamic holidays from his office in Kandahar.
In October, Akhundzada visited the Darul Uloom Hakimiah mosque in the southern city, according to an audio recording circulated by Taliban social media accounts.
'Sad situation'
On Friday, in a message released ahead of Eid al-Fitr, he made no mention of the bloodshed that had rocked Afghanistan over Ramadan, instead praising the Taliban's building of "a strong Islamic and national army" and "strong intelligence organisation".
Unlike Kandahar, many Afghans in Kabul preferred to stay indoors on Sunday rather than pray at mosques after the recent deadly attacks.
"The situation of our people is very sad, especially after what happened in the mosques," Kabul resident Ahmad Shah Hashemi told AFP.
"Many young and old people have been martyred. The people of Afghanistan have nothing but sorrow."
The deadliest attack during Ramadan was in the northern province of Kunduz, where a bomb ripped through a mosque as a group of Sufis performed rituals.
At least 36 people were killed and scores more were wounded. No group has so far claimed that attack. — with Jay Deshmukh in Kabul
Get the latest news as Taliban gains control of Afghanistan. Photo courtesy of Al Jazeera/AFP
Afghanistan's supreme leader said Sunday the country's women were being saved from "traditional oppressions" by the adoption of Islamic governance and their status as "free and dignified human beings" restored.
In a statement marking this week's Eid al-Adha holiday, Hibatullah Akhundzada -- who rarely appears in public and rules by decree from the Taliban's birthplace in Kandahar -- said steps had been taken to provide women with a "comfortable and prosperous life according to Islamic Sharia".
The United Nations expressed "deep concern" last week that women were being deprived of their rights under Afghanistan's Taliban government and warned of systematic gender apartheid.
Since returning to power in August 2021, Taliban authorities have stopped girls and women from attending high school or university, banned them from parks, gyms and public baths, and ordered them to cover up when leaving home.
They have also barred them from working for the UN or NGOs, while most female government employees have been dismissed from their jobs or are being paid to stay at home.
However, Akhundzada said "necessary steps have been taken for the betterment of women as half of the society".
"All institutions have been obliged to help women in securing marriage, inheritance and other rights," his statement read. — AFP
UN chief Antonio Guterres will gather international envoys at a secret location in Doha on Monday in an increasingly desperate bid to find ways to influence Afghanistan's Taliban rulers. — AFP
The UN Security Council adopted a resolution Thursday calling on Taliban authorities to "swiftly reverse" all restrictive measures against women, condemning in particular its ban on Afghan women working for the United Nations.
The resolution, unanimously adopted by all 15 Council members, said the ban announced in early April "undermines human rights and humanitarian principles."
More broadly, the Council called on the Taliban government to "swiftly reverse the policies and practices that restrict the enjoyment by women and girls of their human rights and fundamental freedoms."
It cited access to education, employment, freedom of movement, and "women's full, equal and meaningful participation in public life."
The Council also urged "all States and organizations to use their influence" to "promote an urgent reversal of these policies and practices." — AFP
G7 foreign ministers on Tuesday demanded the "immediate reversal" of a ban on women in Afghanistan working for non-governmental organisations and the United Nations.
"We call for the immediate reversal of unacceptable decisions restricting human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the latest bans prohibiting Afghan women from working for NGOs and the UN," the top diplomats said in a statement after two days of talks in Japan.
The group also slammed the Taliban authorities' "systematic abuses of human rights of women and girls and discrimination against the members of religious and ethnic minorities".
Taliban authorities triggered international outrage this month after extending a December ban on Afghan women working for non-governmental organisations to include the UN.
They have rejected criticism over the move, saying it is an internal issue that should be "respected by all sides." — AFP
The United Nations is being forced to make an "appalling choice" over whether to continue operations in Afghanistan while the Taliban government bans women from working for the organisation, the world body says.
Under their austere interpretation of Islam, Taliban authorities have imposed a slew of restrictions on Afghan women since seizing power in 2021, including banning them from higher education and many government jobs.
In December, they banned Afghan women from working for domestic and foreign non-governmental organisations, and on April 4 extended that to UN offices across the country.
In a statement Tuesday, the UN mission in Afghanistan said the ban was "unlawful under international law, including the UN Charter, and for that reason the United Nations cannot comply".
"Through this ban, the Taliban de facto authorities seek to force the United Nations into having to make an appalling choice between staying and delivering in support of the Afghan people and standing by the norms and principles we are duty-bound to uphold," it said. — AFP
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