by Charlotte Greenfield and Mohammad Yunus Yawar
KABUL (Reuters) – Taliban supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada hailed the Islamists’ takeover of Afghanistan in 2021 at a meeting in the capital Kabul on Friday attended by religious leaders from across the country.
During the all-male gathering of some 3,000 participants, Haibatullah Akhundzada received the oaths of allegiance from participants and praised the Taliban victory last August.
“The success of the Afghan jihad (“spiritual struggle”) is not only a source of pride for Afghans but also for Muslims around the world,” he said, according to the Bakhtar News Agency. .
The supreme leader also called on traders to come back and invest in the country, saying foreign aid could not build the economy and would make Afghans dependent. He underlined the group’s desire for peace and security and assured that neighboring countries had nothing to fear.
His speech comes a week after a deadly earthquake hit the east of the country and highlighted the lack of financial aid in the country.
At least one participant called on Thursday for the opening of girls’ high schools, but it’s unclear whether that proposal receives widespread support.
Haibatullah Akhundzada retained the role of supreme leader he had held for six years when the Islamist movement unveiled its interim government in September, but he is rarely seen in public.
(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield and Mohammad Yunus Yawar in Kabul; French version Dina Kartit, editing by Kate Entringer)
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