With the emergence of the Islamic Emirate, as the de facto Taliban regime is called, “a ‘Sharia’ system has been established throughout Afghanistan,” Akhundzada declared, in a statement issued by the spokesman for the fundamentalist Afghan government.
“The sacred Islamic law is being implemented and important measures have been taken to increase religious practices and expand and strengthen religious centers,” the Taliban’s supreme leader said.
Al-Mullah also praised the work of the “Sharia” courts in promoting “social reform.”
He stressed that “through the work of the Sharia courts (…), the great duty of enjoining good and forbidding evil is practically fulfilled.”
With its return to power, in August 2021, the Taliban imposed a strict interpretation of Islamic law, a set of norms and principles applied in the religious, moral, legal, economic and political spheres.
Executions, floggings and corporal punishment are part of the application of Islamic law in Afghanistan.
Since seizing power in Afghanistan, the Taliban have executed five people and “punished” 450 others, with punishments such as public flogging and imprisonment, according to the Afghan Supreme Court.
The Taliban’s imposition of a strict interpretation of Islamic law has led to restrictions on women’s movement, their exclusion from social spaces, and a ban on them from enrolling in higher education.
The interpretation of this non-uniform law is considered one of the strictest legal rules in the Islamic world.
Akhundzada is an elusive character who generally communicates through written messages or audio recordings and rarely appears in public.
He is the third supreme leader of the Taliban. He was appointed in 2016, after his predecessor, Akhtar Muhammad Mansour, was killed in a North American drone attack in Pakistan.
