Reclusive Taliban leader warns Afghans against earning money or 'worldly honour'

ISLAMABAD – The Taliban's supreme leader on Monday warned Afghans against making money or seeking worldly honors at a time when the country is in the throes of transition. humanitarian crisis and isolated on the world stage.

Hibatullah Akhundzada He issued his warning in a sermon marking Eid al-Adha celebrations at a mosque in southern Kandahar province, weeks before a Taliban delegation was to travel to Doha, Qatar, for talks at the United Nations in Afghanistan.

It will be the first round of talks the Taliban will participate in since they seized power in August 2021. They were not invited to the conference of foreign special envoys in Afghanistan in the first round and They are snubbed In the second round because they wanted to be considered official representatives of the country.

Neither government recognizes the Taliban as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan Aid-dependent economy Their acquisition was plunged into turmoil.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the invitation to the Doha meeting at the end of June did not mean recognizing the Taliban.

Akhundzada reminded the Afghans of their duty as Muslims Repeated calls for unity In his 23-minute sermon.

His and another influential Taliban figure Sirajuddin Haqqani's message on the occasion of a religious festival in april Shows tension between hard-line and more moderate elements who want to scrap austerity policies and attract more outside support.

In Monday's message, Akhundzada said he wanted brotherhood among Muslims and was unhappy with the distinction between civilians and Taliban officials. There is popular discontent against the Taliban's orders rareAnd there is protest quickly and sometimes violently aborted.

He said he would willingly accept any decision to remove him as supreme leader, as long as there was unity and consensus on his ouster. But he was unhappy with differences and disagreements among people.

“We were created to worship Allah, not to earn money or gain worldly honor,” Akhundzada said. “Our Islamic system is God's system and we should stand by it. We have promised God that we will bring justice and Islamic law (to Afghanistan) but we cannot do that unless we are united. The benefit of your disunity reaches the enemy; Enemies take advantage of this.”

The Taliban used their interpretation of Islamic law Preventing girls from studying After age 11, ban women from public spaces, exclude them from many jobs, and enforce dress codes and male guardianship requirements.

Akhundzada asked Taliban officials to listen to the advice of religious scholars and delegate their authority. He said officials should not boast, boast or deny the truth about Islamic law.

Pakistani journalist and author Ahmed Rashid, who has written several books about Afghanistan and the Taliban, said Akhundzada's appeal for unity was a sign of desperation because he refused to spell out the real problems facing Afghans, such as unemployment, economic development and building consensus. For social reform.

“I wouldn't be sure it was a meaningful speech if I were the Taliban,” Rashid said.

Michael Kugelman, director of the Wilson Center's South Asia Institute, said Akhundzada's focus on unity could also be preemptive and nip in the bud any possibility that rifts could flare up again.

He questions whether the target audience has shifted beyond Afghans to the global Muslim community.

“Operationally speaking, the Taliban have no international goals. But the supreme leader commands respect far beyond Afghanistan's borders,” said Kugelman.