Taliban supreme leader makes first public appearance, officials say

DPA Islamabad Taliban supreme leader Shaikh Hibatullah Akhundzada made his first public appearance at an Islamic seminary in Kandahar province this weekend...

DPAIslamabadTaliban supreme leader Shaikh Hibatullah Akhundzada made his first public appearance at an Islamic seminary in Kandahar province this weekend, where he delivered a brief speech, two Taliban officials said on Sunday.A 10-minute audio clip attributed to Akhundzada from Saturday was shared by Taliban social media users. In it, he focused on spiritual issues. It does not include any political content.Taliban deputy government spokesperson Inamullah Habibi Samangani and the director of the Taliban’s information and culture department in Kandahar, Hafiz Saidullah, said that the gathering took place late on Saturday and that the audio is authentic. However, no pictures or videos of the gathering have been shared yet.Another Taliban official claimed that smartphones were not allowed so no one was able to take a picture or a video of their mysterious leader. If true, this would be the first time that Akhundzada has appeared in public in Afghanistan, which might assuage rumours that he might be dead.On Sunday, an official of the al-Hakimia School of Islamic Studies, the seminary where Akhundzada appeared, told local reporters that the Taliban leader made a surprise visit to the seminary with his son and close friends in two private cars and spent the day there.The official said he personally collected all smartphones to avoid any photography.“We came from Jalalabad. Thank God, Amir al Mu’minin is alive. We had a meeting with him yesterday. He met all Taliban. He prayed and asked the Taliban to pray for him,” a Taliban member said.Another Taliban official called on Afghans not to listen to rumours about the death of Akhundzada, assuring them that he is alive.Taliban members call their supreme leaders “Amir al-Mu’minin,” an Arabic title that translates as “commander of the faithful”. Amir is the highest religious, political and military authority within the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.Akhundzada has been Taliban leader since 2016, ever since his predecessor Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour was killed in a US drone strike.Reportedly, Akhundzada lived in the Pakistani city of Quetta after the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001. He is said to have moved to his home province of Kandahar following the withdrawal of the international forces from Afghanistan in August.For a long time, there were rumours that Akhundzada had died of Covid-19. Others speculated that he had died in an explosion. The rumours further strengthened when Akhundzada remained out of public sight after the Taliban took power and formed their new government.Since then high-ranking Taliban leaders, including Mullah Yaqoob and Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban government defence and interior ministers, have appeared in public gatherings, but Akhundzada has remained out of the public limelight.