The Taliban on Sunday revealed in Afghanistan the grave of their movement's founder, Mullah Omar, whose death in 2013 and whereabouts were kept secret for years.
On the run after the fall of the first Taliban regime at the end of 2001, overthrown by a military coalition led by the United States, Mullah Omar died in 2013 in hiding without the details being known - a disappearance that Islamists have long hidden , not officially announcing it until 2015.
Senior leaders of the movement attended a ceremony on Sunday at his grave in the town of Omarzo, located in the eastern province of Zabul, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP.
The Taliban regained power in August 2021, routing government forces and withdrawing US-led coalition forces after 20 years of occupation.
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"
As many enemies were present and the country was occupied, to avoid damaging the tomb, it was kept secret
," Zabihullah Mujahid said.
"
Only close family members knew the place
."
Photos released by authorities show Taliban leaders gathered around a simple white grave protected by a green iron cage.
“
Now that the decision has been made...there is no longer a problem for people to visit the grave
,” the spokesman said.
Founder of the movement
Mullah Omar, who died aged around 55, founded the Taliban in 1993, which seized power in 1996 after several years of civil war and established a regime based on a strict interpretation of Sharia.
The ceremony comes a day after reports on social media that the grave of Afghan resistance hero Ahmad Shah Massoud (1953-2001) was vandalized.
Local Taliban officials have denied.
Ahmad Shah Massoud has a mixed heritage in the country, where he is hailed by the Afghan people for leading the resistance against the Soviet occupation (1979-1989), but hated by the Taliban whom he fought after their first takeover. power.
He will be assassinated in an attack attributed to the jihadist group Al-Qaeda two days before the attacks of September 11, 2001 in the United States.
Massoud's grave is in a granite and marble mausoleum overlooking the Panchir Valley in northeastern Afghanistan.
It is usually guarded by a platoon of Taliban fighters since they took over the country in August 2021. Residents said a contingent of newly arrived Taliban fighters smashed the tombstone.
"
The new forces from Helmand and Kandahar provinces (south) destroyed the national hero's tombstone
," a resident told AFP.
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The province's Information and Culture Officer, Nasrullah Malakzada, denied that the tomb was damaged and released a video purporting to show it intact.
However, the clip does not show the entire structure.
Another video circulating on social networks shows a damaged part.
Requests from journalists to check the condition of the tomb on the spot were refused by Nasrullah Malakzada.
When questioned by the press, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said no one had the right
to "insult
" the dead.
“
Previously, we punished those who committed such acts
,” he said.
"
This matter will also be investigated and the necessary measures will be taken
."