Reclusive Taliban Supremo Haibatullah Akhundzada resurfaces, addresses Loya Jirga in Afghanistan

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Reclusive Taliban supremo Haibatullah Akhundzada surfaced again and this time to address the Taliban’s first “Loya Jirga” since they captured power in Afghanistan. Once again, the Taliban spokespersons did not share any picture of their supreme leader while they shared pictures of their other rulers who participated in the meeting.</p>
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Akhundzada told the “Loya Jirga” that Ulemas and religious scholars have all the right to criticise us, but not in public. “They should not expose our mistakes to the media as it creates a gap between the government and the nation,” warned Akhundzada who had visited the capital after the Taliban’s government formation last year.</p>
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د ا.ا.ا. زعیم د عالمانو په ستره غونډه کې: علماء او ولس حق لري چې حاکمانو ته نصيحت وکړي او اشتباه ګانو ته يې متوجه کړي، ورسره وويني او په مجلس کې يادونه ورته وکړي، مګر دا نصيحت نه دی چې پر رسنیو د حاکمانو کمزورۍ بيانېږي، په دې کار د حکومت او ملت تر منځ فاصله پيدا کېږي. <a href="https://t.co/V5W1zP0SHW">pic.twitter.com/V5W1zP0SHW</a></p>
— Bakhtar News Agency (@BakhtarNA) <a href="https://twitter.com/BakhtarNA/status/1542782889913368577?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 1, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Akhundzada says no one is advising him on the government and insists that "even if the world uses an atomic bomb, we will rule the country according to the Sharia Law.”</p>
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The Taliban rulers  have called a first “Loya Jirga”, a grand assembly of scholars and leaders from around the country, since the group took over Afghanistan last year, as they have been under mounting pressure to form an inclusive government to win international recognition. According to Afghan media, the Taliban has picked up about 3000 Ulemas from the 400 districts of the country for the three day “Grand Gathering” which started on Thursday. Interestingly, the media is not allowed to attend the Jirga.</p>
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The Taliban spokespersons had said that criticism of the government would be allowed at the three-day jirga and thorny issues such as education of girls — which has divided opinion in the movement — would be discussed but except one, no participants raised these issues. Most of the participants including one hardliner  Mullah  Mujeeb Rahman Ansari urged that  the Ulemas  that they should issue a fatwa against anyone who opposes the Taliban r should be beheaded.</p>
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This is <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DANGEROUS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DANGEROUS</a>! Listen to this 👇<br />
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Mawlawi Mujeeb Rahman Ansari, during the gathering (Taliban Loya Jirga) held in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Kabul?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Kabul</a> says that the Ulema should issue a fetwa against whoever opposes <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Taliban?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Taliban</a> regime would be beheaded. <a href="https://t.co/pEUmMhsQrv">pic.twitter.com/pEUmMhsQrv</a></p>
— Mohammad Natiq (@natiqmalikzada) <a href="https://twitter.com/natiqmalikzada/status/1542484548113428480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 30, 2022</a></blockquote>
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While the Taliban has been claiming that all the issues will include girls' education and their rights for jobs, the Taliban boss did not mention any thorny issues in his hour-long speech.</p>
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Ironically,  women were not allowed to attend, with deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi telling state broadcaster RTA that there was no need to do so as they would be represented by male relatives.</p>
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“The women are our mothers and sisters… we respect them a lot. When their sons are in the gathering it means they are also involved,” he said.</p>
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N response to Y women r not allowed to attend d Loya Jirga/Nat'l Summit, d Taliban DPM said they r our mothers and sisters;d fact tht their children r present here means they r somehow involved as well…<br />
Prior to this, d concept of representation was a mere misunderstanding ; ) <a href="https://t.co/T2doQM2EW3">pic.twitter.com/T2doQM2EW3</a></p>
— Farida Razaqi (@RazaqiFarida) <a href="https://twitter.com/RazaqiFarida/status/1542219689534922753?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 29, 2022</a></blockquote>
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According to Afghan journalists, this so-called “Loya Jirga” is a meeting of those clerics who have been supporting the Taliban. Not every “Loya Jirga” decision has stood its ground, nor has every Loya Jirga seen unanimous approval. In fact, there has been enough criticism of representation in these assemblies.</p>
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“Loya Jirga is a bankrupt mechanism, which's always been exploited to achieve a political end of a group or ruling elite of one ethnicity against the rest. Taliban know this and exploit it to their advantage against the rest of Afghanistan that reject them, their state-sponsor,” tweeted Ambassador M. Ashraf Haidari, Afghanistan’s ambassador to Sri Lanka who has been opposing the Taliban.</p>
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Deputy Taliban chief and the Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani addressed the meeting on Friday, saying the world was demanding inclusive government and education, and the issues needed time.</p>
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A hardline cleric whose son was a suicide bomber, Akhundzada has been living in the shadows. He has been absent from important meetings and has not been seen in public for more than one year, triggering speculation about him being “alive”. But the Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid said that Mullah Haibatullah was alive in a safe and secure place, and his absence in public was driven by security concerns. Mujahid said that all their leaders and officials are in contact with the supreme leader. They take his advice on all important issues and share their reports with him.</p>
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