The Taliban’s elusive leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada made his debut in the group’s birthplace Kandahar on Saturday and visited a religious school there, head of the school Mawlawi Sayed Ahmad Sayed said Sunday.
“The supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada Sahib visited Al-Hakimia Madrasa at 10:30 a.m. local time yesterday,” Mawlawi Sayed told Xinhua.
Akhundzada, who has been leading the Taliban movement since 2016, also delivered a 10-minute speech to the students of the Madrasa (religious school) in Kandahar, said Mawlawi Sayed.
Another official of the Madrasa said that his two sons, two nephews and his brother accompanied Akhundzada during the visit.
When asked if any photo from the supreme leader had been left in the Madrasa, Mawlawi Sayed replied, “the great Ulema (religious scholars) doesn’t like pictures and videos and the use of cell phones was prohibited during Haibatullah (Akhundzada)’s tour to the Madrasa.”
Since Afghanistan’s takeover by the Taliban in mid-August, the group’s supreme leader whose whereabouts is unknown has not reportedly visited Afghanistan’s capital Kabul.
