Taliban supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada makes first public appearance

Amid rumours of his death, Taliban supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada made his first confirmed public appearance in Afghanistan on Sunday, October 31, 2021.

Akhundzada is known for keeping a low profile and has never been seen in public before. He took over the role of the outfit’s supreme leader in 2016.

While reports quoting officials suggest that Akhundzada has made “unpublicised public appearances” in the past, this is the first confirmed public appearance, which also quashes recent rumours surrounding his death.

As per Reuters, the only photo of Akhundzada that the news agency could verify was an undated pic on Taliban Twitter account’s feed from May 2016.

In the aftermath of Taliban returning to power in Afghanistan back in August, there had been rumours of Akhundzada’s death. But his rare public appearance which happened in Kandahar will go some distance in silencing those rumours.

Akhundzada is called the Amir ul Momineen or the leader of the faithful.

The news agency reports that a senior leader of the outfit present at the location revealed that the Taliban Chief visited a religious school in the city called Jamia Darul Aloom Hakimia, on October 30.