Taliban supreme leader vows to enforce Islamic law across Afghanistan

Taliban’s supreme leader Hebatullah Akhundzada has vowed to enforce the Islamic law across Afghanistan.

In audio recorded from Eid prayers in Eid Gaah Mosque in Kandahar, Akhundzada reiterated that the laws which were not based on Shariah in the previous government will be abolished, reported Tolo News.

“I have asked the procedures and policies of all ministries made during the governments of Ashraf Ghani and Karzai or during the past 20-years, now put under the supervision of the clerics, if there was anything against Shariah or the interests of the people, it will be removed and we will bring a pure Islamic system,” he said.

This comes after the Taliban’s Prime Minister Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund called on Afghans living abroad to renounce their opposition to the current Afghan government and take advantage of the general amnesty announced by the country, reported Tolo News.

“What do you want, a commission has been facilitated for you. Why you want to sever this world ...? What do you want?” he said.

However, the analysts said that the Taliban has not been able to stick to its rhetoric.

“The international community is not against the Islamic government on condition that it will be an Islamic government and bring a legislative government. So far, it has only been words. The Taliban couldn’t make a proper mechanism, or a national mechanism, or a government confirmed by the people or a government of people,” said Javid Sandel, a political analyst.

Earlier, Akhundzada warned foreigners to stop meddling in Afghanistan’s affairs and politics.

At an event in Kabul, the reclusive leader told the conference that Afghanistan “cannot develop without being independent,” CNN reported citing local media.

“Thank God, we are now an independent country. (Foreigners) should not give us their orders, it is our system, and we have our own decisions,” Akhundzada added.

In the speech, Akhundzada praised the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan last August, almost two decades after they were driven from Kabul by US troops, saying: “The success of the Afghan jihad is not only a source of pride for Afghans but also for Muslims all over the world.”

Akhundzada made the comments in an audio recording during a three-day religious gathering of 3,000 attendees — all of whom were male, CNN said, quoting local media reports.

The statements delivered by Akhundzada contradict the ones made by other members of the Taliban’s leadership in recent months who have expressed an openness to a more inclusive government in order to gain international support.

The three-day gathering that opened on Thursday and concluded on Saturday was the first nationwide gathering of Islamic clerics in the country.

The civil societies have strongly condemned the Jirga’s decision to debar women and have called the gathering illegitimate in absence of women.

• Asia