Taliban supreme leader hails ‘security’ in rare appearance to mark Eidul Fitr

On Sunday, Afghanistan’s supreme leader made his first public appearance in six years, telling Eidul Fitr believers that the Taliban had gained freedom and security since capturing power last year.

An atmosphere of heightened security surrounds the man announced as Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s head, as he spoke barely two days after a bomb blasted through a mosque in Kabul.

“Congratulations on victory, freedom, and prosperity,” he greeted tens of thousands of worshippers at the Eidgah mosque in Kandahar, the Taliban’s de facto capital.

“Congratulations on this level of security and the Islamic system in general.”

Hundreds of Taliban fighters were stationed near Akhundzada and other Taliban commanders, preventing worshippers from taking pictures with their iPhones.

The voice purported to be Akhundzada’s emerged from the front rows of worshippers, according to an AFP correspondent on the scene.

It was Akhundzada’s second public appearance since assuming Taliban authority in 2016.

Worshippers chanted as the man introduced as the Taliban leader began to speak “‘Allah is Great!’ Long live the Islamic Emirate and the Akhundzada dynasty!”

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“I cried when I heard Sheikh Saheb’s (Akhundzada’s) voice… hearing him is like realising my greatest goal,” he stated, adding that he had unable to see the leader among the crowd.

“I’m so delighted that I can’t even describe it,” said Bismillah, a Kandahar local who attended Eid prayers at the Eidgah mosque.

“I had a dream that I was praying beside my supreme leader, hearing or seeing him,” he told AFP.

Because of Akhundzada’s modest profile, there has been speculation regarding his role in the new Taliban government, which was founded after the group seized control of Kabul on August 15 — and even death rumours.

His public visibility has primarily been limited to the distribution of messages from his Kandahar office during Islamic festivals.

According to an audio recording distributed by Taliban social media channels, Akhundzada visited the Darul Uloom Hakimiah mosque in the southern city in October.

He made no mention of the bloodshed that had rocked Afghanistan over Ramazan in a statement broadcast on Friday ahead of Eidul Fitr, instead hailing the Taliban’s construction of “a powerful Islamic and national army” and “strong intelligence organisation.”

Prime Minister Mohammad Hassan Akhund of Afghanistan performed Eid prayers at the presidential palace in Kabul, where he criticised Washington for interfering in the country’s domestic affairs.

“Isn’t it true that they (Washington) kept the country’s wealth in the bank? Isn’t that, in our country, intervention?” According to the authorities, Akhund said in a statement.

After withdrawing from Afghanistan in August, the US took billions of dollars in assets, exacerbating the country’s humanitarian catastrophe.

Following the recent tragic strikes in Kabul, many Afghans choose to stay indoors on Sunday rather than pray at mosques.

“Our people’s plight is very sad,” Ahmad Shah Hashemi, a Kabul resident, told AFP. “Especially after what happened in the mosques.”

“There have been many martyrs, both young and old. Afghanistan’s citizens are in a state of mourning.”

During Ramadan, the bloodiest attack occurred in Kunduz, where a bomb swept through a crowd.

At least 36 people were killed and scores more were wounded. No group has so far claimed that attack.