Afghanistan: In a rare message, Taliban supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada calls on Afghans to observe Sharia law

The supreme leader of the Taliban on Saturday, April 6, urged Afghans to observe Islamic law imposed by his government, which is to date not recognized by any country, while calling on “all nations” to reestablish their ties with Kabul .

In a rare message written on the occasion of Eid-el-Fitr, which will mark the end of the month of Ramadan next week, Emir Haibatullah Akhundzada believes that “the injustice and rejection of sharia”, Islamic law, of which the Taliban impose an ultra-rigorous version, “leads to insecurity”.

The emir, who lives in seclusion in Kandahar, in the south of the country, while the government sits in Kabul, also assured that he wanted “diplomatic and economic relations with all nations”, while the international community has cut ties with Afghan authorities since the Taliban took power in August 2021.

In January, an audio recording attributed to the emir emerged in which he promised to reinstate punishments practiced under the first Taliban government, from 1996 to 2001, such as public whippings and stonings of women convicted of adultery, statements that sparked outrage around the world.

« Apartheid de genre »

This January recording, which the authorities do not comment on, has been shared numerous times in recent weeks, while the spokesperson for the Taliban government recently explained to local media that stoning was enshrined in Sharia law and that it could be pronounced again “if the conditions were met for this”.

Public executions, commonplace during the first reign of the Taliban, are rare today. Corporal punishments, on the other hand, are legion, particularly whippings, notably to punish theft, adultery or the consumption of alcohol.

Five men and a woman accused of “adultery” and “sodomy” were publicly flogged in eastern Logar province on Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard.

Their government has increased repressive measures against women, a policy described as “gender apartheid” by the UN, which emphasizes that Afghanistan is now the only country in the world where girls’ education is prohibited. after primary school.