Afghanistan: a great council of thousands of participants to legitimize the Taliban regime

"

" is the most important principle of the Afghan Islamic system, a Taliban official said Thursday (June 30th) at a grand council in Kabul bringing together thousands of Afghan religious scholars and tribal elders who should legitimize the regime.

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Authorities have provided very few details about the rally called by the Taliban and composed only of men.

In the early afternoon, gunfire was heard near the Kabul Polytechnic University campus in western Kabul, where the rally is taking place, according to witnesses and leaked videos. on social networks.

But Taliban officials tweeted that the meeting was continuing as normal.

The council is described as a '

', a traditional assembly of elders where differences should normally be settled by consensus.

The media were denied access, but some speeches are broadcast on state radio, most calling for unity behind the Islamic fundamentalist regime.

"

," Habibullah Haqqani, who chairs the rally, said in his opening speech.

"

," he said.

This event comes a week after an earthquake that hit the south-east of the country and left more than 1,000 dead and tens of thousands homeless.

US officials were due to discuss in Qatar on Thursday with senior Taliban officials a mechanism to release Afghan funds, with Washington seeking to ensure they are used for humanitarian purposes.

Even before the earthquake, the Taliban struggled to transition from an insurgent force that fought for 20 years against American forces, which left the country at the end of August 2021, in civilian administration.

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Since their return to power in mid-August, Afghanistan has been plunged into a deep economic and humanitarian crisis, the international community having closed the floodgates of financial aid which had carried the country at arm's length for two decades.

A Taliban source told AFP that council participants would be allowed to criticize the power in place and that thorny issues, such as girls' education - which is the subject of debate within the movement itself -, would be on the program of the "

", which is to last three days.

Women are not allowed to attend.

Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi told state broadcaster RTA on Wednesday that this was unnecessary as they will be represented by male relatives.

Restricted women's rights

"

," and "

," he said.

The Taliban claim to have the support of a very large majority of the population.

But they returned to the ultra-rigorous interpretation of Islam that had marked their first passage to power, between 1996 and 2001, severely restricting women's rights.

They have largely barred them from public employment, restricted their right to travel, and barred girls from middle and high school.

Women have also been forced to wear a full veil, covering the face, for any outing in public.

From the council rostrum, an influential imam said anyone trying to overthrow the regime should be beheaded.

“

,” said Mujib ur Rahman Ansari, the imam of the Gazargh Mosque in Herat.

"

," he said.

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Cities, church groups and other organizations from each of more than 400 districts were to send representatives, bringing attendance to the council to more than 3,000, the largest gathering of influential figures since the return to power of the Taliban.

The Afghan media also speculate on the possible presence of the supreme leader of the Taliban and the country, Hibatullah Akhundzada, who has never been filmed or photographed in public since their arrival in power.

Only audio recordings of Habibullah Akhundzada, who lives recluse in Kandahar, the spiritual center of the Taliban, have been made public, without being able to be authenticated by an independent source.