With the advent of the Islamic Emirate, the so-called ‘real’ rule of the Taliban, “the system of ‘Sharia’ has been established across Afghanistan,” Akhundzada declared, in a statement issued by a spokesman for the fundamentalist Afghan government.
“Holy Islamic Sharia is being applied and important steps have been taken to increase religious practices and expand and strengthen religious centers,” the Taliban supreme leader said.
The Mullah also praised the work of Sharia courts in promoting “social reform”.
He highlighted that “through the functioning of the ‘Sharia’ courts (…), the great duty of enjoining good and forbidding evil is fulfilled in practice.”
Upon their return to power, in August 2021, the Taliban imposed a strict interpretation of Islamic law, a set of norms and commands applicable in the religious, moral, legal, economic and political domains.
Capital punishment, flogging and corporal punishment are part of Islamic law in Afghanistan.
Since seizing power in Afghanistan, the Taliban have executed five people and “punished” another 450, with punishments such as public flogging and prison terms, according to Afghanistan’s Supreme Court.
The imposition of a strict interpretation of Islamic law by the Taliban included restrictions on women’s movement, exclusion from social spaces and bans from higher education.
The interpretation of this non-monolithic legal code is considered the strictest in practice in the Muslim world.
Akhundzada is an elusive figure who usually communicates through written messages or voice recordings and is rarely seen in public.
He is the third supreme leader of the Taliban appointed in 2016 after his predecessor Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor was killed in a North American drone strike in Pakistan.
“Hardcore explorer. Extreme communicator. Professional writer. General music practitioner. Prone to fits of apathy.”