The hardline Islamic organization confirmed on Sunday that the supreme leader of the Taliban, Hibatullah Akhundzada, was in Afghanistan. He has never appeared in public and his whereabouts are unknown.
“He is in Kandahar. He has lived there from the beginning,” said Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.
“He will be in front of the public soon,” Deputy Spokesperson Bilal Karimi added.
Since being arrested from relatively obscurity in 2016 to supervise a campaign in crisis, Akunzada, the so-called believer commander, has led the Taliban as its leader.
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Little is known about Akhundzada’s daily role, and his public image is mainly limited to publishing annual messages during Islamic festivals.
Since the Taliban came to power and took control of Afghanistan in mid-August, he has not issued any statements.
The Taliban has long placed its supreme leader in the shadows.
The mysterious founder of the organization, Mullah Mohamed Omar, is notorious for his hermit style, and rarely traveled to Kabul when the organization was in power in the 1990s.
Instead, Omar basically did not show up in the Kandahar compound, and was even unwilling to meet with visiting delegations.
Kandahar is the birthplace of radical movements and the center of the Taliban’s strong Islamic government in the 1990s.
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