Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada made a surprise appearance at at Kandahar mosque to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of Islamic holy month Ramadan, and publicly celebrated the Taliban’s victories in Afghanistan following the deadly withdrawal of U.S. troops led by Joe Biden.
“Congratulations on victory, freedom and success,” said Akhundzada to an audience of worshipers that reportedly numbered in the thousands. “Congratulations on this security and for the Islamic system.”
The Muslim faithful then began chanting, “Allahu Akbar! Long live Islamic Emirate and Long Live Akhundzada!”
The event marks Akhundzada’s first public appearance since the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan amid the ill-fated withdrawal of American troops last year. The circumstances of his appearance, too, led some international outlets to doubt it was actually Akhundzada.
Akhundzada delivered the address from “one of the front rows” in the Kandahar mosque “without turning to face the crowd,” and most reports of his existence came from social media posts.
Dawn, a Pakistan-based newspaper, reported that the Muslim faithful were “overwhelmed” by Akhundzada’s voice and words, though some admitted they did not see him.
“I’m so happy that I can’t even describe it,” one Kandahar resident tolf AFP. “I had a dream to pray alongside my supreme leader, to hear his voice or to see him.”
“I cried when I heard the voice of [Akhundzada],” said another. “To hear him is like achieving my biggest dream,” he added before adding that he did not actually see the leader through the crowd.
Two helicopters flew overhead, and “dozens of Taliban fighters” were deployed where Akhundzada was seated, preventing worshipers from taking photos. Press, too, was prevent from approaching the Taliban leader.
He did not address the violence that has stricken Afghanistan under Muslim theocratic rule, including bombings only days prior to the holiday and thus during Ramadan. The Islamic State has taken credit for many of the attacks.
Ramadan in Afghanistan has been particularly violent, France 24 reported. The deadliest attack was in Kunduz province, where a bomb killed Sufi worshipers. ripped through a mosque as a group of Sufis performed rituals.
Akhundzada was appointed to lead the Taliban after a drone strike killed his predecessor in 2016. The AFP once reported that he secured the allegiance of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who called him “the emir of the faithful.”
Many conservatives believe the Biden administration fumbled the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, a process that Biden supported but was originally planned and organized under the Trump administration.
Trump claims his plan called for American civilians to be evacuated first, followed by the destruction or removal of American equipment, before ultimately withdrawing the troops themselves.
Estimates on the value of the equipment ceded to the Taliban in Afghanistan has ranged from $7 billion to $83 billion, with most Internet fact checkers claiming the former is accurate.
