Audio by Hibatullah Akhundzada 5 years after his appointment
(ANSA) – KABUL, OCTOBER 31 – The mysterious ‘supreme leader’ of the Taliban, mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, whose public appearance had never been made official since his appointment in 2016, took part in a ceremony last night in Kandahar, in ‘Southern Afghanistan. Taliban officials said this.
“The commander of the believers, Sheikh Hibatullah Akhundzada, appeared at a large gathering at the famous Hakimiya madrassa and spoke for ten minutes with the brave soldiers and disciples,” the Taliban government said today with an audio message in support. In this diffused audio clip, we hear the mullah can recite indistinct prayers and blessings.
According to a local source, Akhundzada arrived at this Koranic school in Kandahar in a convoy of two cars under maximum security and no photographs were allowed. After being silent for a long time about his whereabouts, the Taliban announced in September that Akhundzada had lived “from the beginning” in Kandahar and would appear “soon in public”.
After coming to power, Mullah Akhundzada quickly won the loyalty of Egyptian al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who called him an “emir of believers”, thus strengthening his credibility in the jihadist world and in the Sunni universe. In his capacity as “supreme leader”, Akhundzada is responsible for maintaining unity within the Islamist movement, a complex mission as the internal struggles that have fractured the jihadist movement for years have persisted since their return to power in mid-August. (HANDLE).