Kabul: In the time from power in Afghanistan, a wide range of Taliban figures commandos entered Kabul, armed students of Madrassa and graying leaders of exile.
There was one major exception – the supreme leader of the group.
But the Taliban confirmed Sunday that Hibattullah Akhundzada is in Afghanistan and could soon make a public appearance for the first time.
“It is present in Kandahar. He lived there from the beginning,” said spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid Taliban.
“He will soon appear in public,” said the deputy spokesman Bilal Karimi.
Akhundzada – The alleged commander of the faithful – berm as the Taliban leader since 2016, when torn from relative obscurity to oversee a crisis of movement.
After taking the reins of the uprising, the cleric was in charge of the mammoth challenge of unifying a jihadist movement that briefly broke during a bitter struggle for power.
The rustling came as the group was hit with successive shots – the assassination of predecessor Akhundzada and the revelation that its leaders had concealed the death of Taliban founder Mullah Omar.
It is also known that the daily role of Akhundzada, with his public profile so far limited to the release of annual messages during Islamic holidays.
Besides a single photograph released by the Taliban, the head has never made a public appearance and his whereabouts are largely unknown.
Since the Kabul takeover in mid-August, the group had so far remained tight over the movements of Akhundzada.
“You will see it soon, I hope,” spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid Taliban told reporters earlier this week when asked about the location of Akhundzada.
The comments came as the leaders of various Taliban factions have openly preached in mosques in Kabul, met figures from the opposition and even chamatés with Afghan cricket officials in recent days.
The Secret History
The Taliban have a long history of keeping their primarily in the shadows.
The enigmatic founder Mullah Mohammad Omar was notorieux group for its hermits routes and is rarely visited Kabulwhen the group was in power in the 1990s.
Instead, Omar remained largely out of sight, even reluctant to meet with visiting delegations, to remain in his compound in Kandahar, the birthplace of the movement and the center of his government fisted in years 90.
But his word was the rule and no singular figure has emerged to control the movement with the same respect.
Laurel Miller – The head of the group program ASIA international crisis – said Akhundzada “seems to have adopted a similar style reclusiforme” than Omar.
The secret could also be powered by safety reasons, Miller added, citing the assassination of his predecessor Mullah Akhtar Mansour by striking US drone.
“A spokesman for the Taliban said that their leader will soon emerge, and it might have reason to do so to cancel suspicions of his disappearance,” said Miller told AFP.
“But it is also possible that after having shown he would retire and exercise its authority distantly, as did Mullah Omar.”
The absence of Akhundzada follows years of rumors about his health, with chatter in Pakistan and Afghanistan, suggesting that he had contracted Covid or had been killed in a bombing.
There never had been much in the way of proving these rumors, but the secret of Akhundzada comes at a sensitive time for the insurgency Erres.
There are factions Myriad Taliban groups consisting of all Afghanistan, representing a wide range of constituents.
The revelation in 2015 that the Taliban leadership had for years concealed the death of Mullah Omar sparked a brief bloody power struggle, with at least one scintillating major faction of the group.
As the transition from Taliban fight against governance, balancing the interests of their many factions will be crucial to consolidate power.
Any void of power could destabilize a movement that has managed to remain consistent after decades of conflict, tens of thousands of killed feet soldiers and murdered leaders or shipped to the American prison in Guantanamo Bay.
Others suggest that the group can simply go back to its time until the United States led forces make their final exit from Afghanistan in the coming days.
“The Taliban consider themselves in a state of jihad” As long as foreign troops are on Afghan soil and will probably keep their head hidden until they leave, said the security analyst based in Pakistani Imtiaz Gul.
“That’s why the supreme leader does not surface.”