• Taliban’s reclusive supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada is attending a big assembly of clerics in Kabul.
• Some 3,000 clerics and elders gathered in Kabul for a three-day gathering to rubber-stamp Taliban rule.
• The media are not allowed to cover the event, but rumours have been going around for days.

KABUL: A government spokesman announced Friday that the Taliban’s reclusive supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, is attending a big assembly of clerics in the Afghan capital.

Bilal Karimi tweeted that Akhundzada, who had not been videotaped or photographed in public since the Taliban’s return to power in August, had “entered the assembly hall.”

Since Thursday, some 3,000 clerics and elders have gathered in Kabul for a three-day gathering to rubber-stamp the Taliban’s rule.

Even though the media are not allowed to cover the event, rumours about Akhundzada’s arrival have been going around for days.

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This week, a Taliban insider told AFP that criticism of the administration will be permitted at the summit, and divisive topics including girls’ education will be discussed.

A week after a major earthquake devastated the east of the country, killing over 1,000 people and leaving tens of thousands homeless, there are no women present at the meeting.

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