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According to BNA, the special leader told the conference that Afghanistan cannot develop without independence.
Akhundzada added: “Thank God, we are now an independent country. (Foreigners) should not give us their orders, this is our system and we have our own decisions.”
Just a few weeks after the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, the pace of takeover took the world by surprise and led to the collapse of Ashraf Ghani’s foreign-backed government, which had fled the country.
Akhundzada made the remarks in an audio recording during a three-day religious gathering, which, according to state media, was all male. The meeting was not open to the media, but CNN heard a recording of Akhundzada’s speech.
Akhundzada, a senior cleric from the Taliban’s founding generation, was appointed Taliban leader five years ago after the group’s former leader, Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor, was killed in a US airstrike in Pakistan.
He remained in the post until the group announced its interim government in September.
Akhundzada denied the involvement of former officials in the formation of the next government, although he said he was “forgiving”.
“I have forgiven the oppressors of the former regime. I will not give an account of their past actions. If anyone has created problems for them without committing new crimes, I will punish them. But forgiveness does not mean bringing them into government.” Akhundzada said in an audio recording.
This message seems to contradict the statements of other members of the Taliban leadership in recent months, who have made open statements for an all-inclusive government to gain international support.
The international community has repeatedly called on the Taliban to expand the ranks of its government and restore the rights of women and girls that have been eroded since the group came to power, if it wants to be formally recognized. . The World Bank has frozen hundreds of millions of dollars worth of projects over the issue.
Speaking at an emergency meeting in Geneva on Friday, UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet warned that “women and girls in Afghanistan are the most likely to exercise their rights in decades.” Experiences significant and rapid rollback. ”
Speaking to religious scholars, Akhundzada reiterated his commitment to the implementation of Sharia law, an Islamic legal system derived from the Qur’an, while expressing his opposition to the “way of life of infidels.”
The Taliban’s harsh interpretation of Sharia law when they were in power led to a number of violent punishments, including the stoning of alleged adulterers, public executions and beheadings.
