{"id":952204,"date":"2021-11-02T03:13:58","date_gmt":"2021-11-02T07:13:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=952204"},"modified":"2021-11-02T03:14:00","modified_gmt":"2021-11-02T07:14:00","slug":"taliban-supreme-leader-makes-first-public-appearance-since-conquest-of-afghanistan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/taliban-supreme-leader-makes-first-public-appearance-since-conquest-of-afghanistan\/","title":{"rendered":"Taliban Supreme Leader Makes First Public Appearance Since Conquest of Afghanistan"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftaliban-supreme-leader-makes-first-public-appearance-since-conquest-of-afghanistan%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=952204&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"subheading\"><span>Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, nominal Supreme Leader of the Taliban and its \u201cIslamic Emirate of Afghanistan\u201d regime, made his first public appearance since the fall of Kabul on Sunday. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Akhundzada had not made an official appearance in public since he assumed control of the Taliban in 2016.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>Akhundzada reportedly made an appearance at an Islamic seminary in the city of Kandahar. The Taliban forbade photos or video of the Supreme Leader\u2019s appearance but, according to the director of the religious school, Akhundzada \u201cgreeted around 700 to 800 students,\u201d who were \u201ccrying\u201d with happiness as they \u201chonored his coming.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Taliban regime released an audio recording of Akhundzada supposedly addressing the \u201cbrave soldiers and disciples\u201d at the school.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cMay God reward the oppressed people of Afghanistan who fought the infidels and the oppressors for 20 years. My intention here is to pray for you and you pray for me,\u201d the voice allegedly belonging to Akhundzada said in the recording. This was followed by about ten minutes of prayers for the \u201cmartyrs\u201d of the Taliban, its wounded fighters, and its newly-installed public officials.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>\u201cLet\u2019s pray that we come out of this big test successfully. May Allah help us stay strong,\u201d the recording concluded.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_18526250\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" readability=\"36\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/GettyImages-1235997563.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-18526250\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/GettyImages-1235997563.png\" alt width=\"640\" height=\"480\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Head of the Taliban delegation, deputy prime minister Abdul Salam Hanafi attends an international conference on Afghanistan in Moscow on October 20, 2021. (ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO\/POOL\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arabnews.com\/node\/1958476\/world\"><span>Arab News<\/span><\/a><span> on Sunday quoted speculation that the rare appearance and recording by the reclusive \u201ccommander of the faithful,\u201d as his official title and endorsements from the al-Qaeda terrorist organization style him, is a sign that he intends to step out of the shadows and assume more direct and public control of the Taliban government. Various Taliban officials claim to be in regular contact with Akhundzada, but he usually only speaks to the rank and file through recorded messages on Muslim holidays.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>On the other hand, Afghanistan\u2019s independent <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/tolonews.com\/afghanistan-175251\"><span>Tolo News<\/span><\/a><span> quoted skeptics who believe Akhundzada is injured or dead, possibly&nbsp;<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hindustantimes.com\/world-news\/taliban-chief-haibatullah-akhundzada-killed-in-pakistan-months-ago-reports-101613312039343.html\"><span>killed<\/span><\/a><span> in Pakistan when a Taliban safe house was bombed in the spring of 2020.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Taliban has long denounced rumors of Akhundzada\u2019s death as \u201cbaseless rumors\u201d and enemy \u201cpropaganda,\u201d but skeptics noted there is no compelling security reason for the Supreme Leader to remain completely invisible and the people he claims to rule have a right to see and hear from him.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>The Taliban regime again&nbsp;<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/asia-pacific\/taliban-says-failure-recognise-their-government-could-have-global-effects-2021-10-30\/\"><span>demanded<\/span><\/a><span> international recognition as the legitimate government of Afghanistan on Saturday, threatening not only the people of Afghanistan but the entire world if their claim to power is not recognized by the United States and other nations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cOur message to America is, if unrecognition continues, Afghan problems continue, it is the problem of the region and could turn into a problem for the world,\u201d Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid warned.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>Mujahid claimed the U.S. invasion that toppled the Taliban from power in 2001 could have been \u201csolved\u201d through \u201cnegotiation\u201d and \u201cpolitical compromise\u201d with proper diplomatic recognition.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>No foreign power has yet recognized the Taliban as legitimate rulers of Afghanistan, not even China, which is clearly anxious to do business with the regime.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_18414562\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" readability=\"36\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Taliban-2-1.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-18414562\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Taliban-2-1.jpeg\" alt=\"Head of the Taliban delegation, deputy prime minister Abdul Salam Hanafi speaks to the media during an international conference on Afghanistan in Moscow on October 20, 2021. (Alexander Zemlianichenko\/Pool\/AFP)\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Head of the Taliban delegation, deputy prime minister Abdul Salam Hanafi speaks to the media during an international conference on Afghanistan in Moscow on October 20, 2021. (Alexander Zemlianichenko\/Pool\/AFP)<\/em><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B4\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>According to Mujahid, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Taliban officials in Qatar last week, pledged financial support to develop infrastructure in Afghanistan, and promised the Taliban regime would have access to China\u2019s markets.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/asia_pacific\/taliban-afghanistan-hazaras\/2021\/11\/01\/096c9690-3775-11ec-9662-399cfa75efee_story.html\"><i><span>Washington Post<\/span><\/i><\/a> <span>on Monday reported the Taliban is attempting to shore up its legitimacy by sending a 33-year-old emissary named Maulavi Mahdi to deal with Afghanistan\u2019s Shiite Muslims.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Mahdi describes himself as a \u201cbridge between the Taliban and the Hazara community,\u201d referring to the Shiite ethnic group he belongs to \u2013 a minority ruthlessly persecuted by the Taliban before the U.S. invasion in 2001.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The <\/span><i><span>Washington Post <\/span><\/i><span>took Mahdi\u2019s prominence as a sign the Taliban knows it must appear \u201cinclusive\u201d and refrain from ethnic cleansing campaigns and religious persecution to secure international recognition, but also skeptically noted that Mahdi holds only a ceremonial position within the Taliban regime, while no one with actual power is a member of the Hazara community.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Taliban is still kicking Hazaras out of their homes, paying bonuses to the families of suicide bombers who kill Hazaras, and refusing to prosecute any of its members for atrocities against the Hazaras, according to on-the-ground reports.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, nominal Supreme Leader of the Taliban and its \u201cIslamic Emirate of Afghanistan\u201d regime, made his first public appearance since the fall of Kabul on Sunday. Akhundzada &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-952204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/952204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=952204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/952204\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=952204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=952204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=952204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}