'Respect Sharia Law': Taliban Supreme Leader Asks Afghans In Eid Message

In a rare message marking the end of the Muslim month of Ramadan, Afghanistan’s supreme leader has urged Afghans to respect Sharia law and called for good relations with the international community.

Since assuming power in August 2021, the radical Islamic outfit has enforced rules based on a strict interpretation of Islamic law. Women have borne the brunt of restrictions the human rights groups have described as “gender apartheid”.

Notably, the Taliban-run government has not been officially recognised by any state. In Saturday’s message ahead of the Eid al-Fitr festival that falls next week, supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada said: “Injustice and being opposed to Sharia leads to insecurity.”

Hibatullah, who lives in southern Kandahar province, the Taliban’s spiritual heartland, and is rarely seen in public, reiterated that the Taliban authorities “seek diplomatic and economic relations with all nations”. His message did not touch on key diplomatic sticking points, such as allowing girls and women to return to secondary schools and universities.

“In the realm of international relations among all countries, we aim to pursue a balanced and economically focused policy in the light of the holy religion of Islam.” The Eid message came after a recording attributed to Hibatullah that circulated in January was shared widely again in recent weeks.

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‘Public stoning of women’

In that audio clip, he promised to implement punishments used under the Taliban’s previous rule from 1996 to 2001, such as public stoning of women for adultery, sparking condemnation from rights groups and the United Nations.

In a recent interview with Afghanistan’s Tolo News, Taliban government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said stoning was part of Sharia law and that it would be used again “if the conditions for it arise”. Taliban authorities have not officially commented on the audio clip. During the Taliban’s first rule, public executions were common, with only a handful carried out since their return to power.

Corporal punishment has been common, however, and employed for crimes including theft, adultery and alcohol consumption. On Wednesday, five men and a woman were publicly flogged over charges of “adultery and sodomy” in eastern Logar province, the supreme court said in a statement.

(With agency inputs)