Abdul Salam Hanafi, Taliban’s Deputy Prime Minister, said that without a strong educational system, the group cannot claim of having an independent country. During a gathering at Kabul University, Hanafi added that the duty of a religious leader is not to say what is forbidden.
Hanafi added that when the Mufti (religious leader) forbids something, he must also introduce an alternative.
Hanafi urged scholars of the Islamic world and Afghanistan to enlighten Afghanistan.
Hanafi’s sharp criticism comes at a time when the Taliban leader has banned the right to education and work of Afghan women.
Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, the leader of the Taliban who has not been seen in public and the Kandahar circle, is against the education of girls and has so far been able to impose his decisions on the cabinet of the group in Kabul.
Some prominent figures of the Taliban occasionally raise their voices against these decisions, but so far, they have not been able to convince the leader of the group to reverse the decision on Afghan women.
Haqqani’s criticism of monopoly of power
In addition to the criticism about closure of schools and universities for girls and banning them from work, the issue of monopoly of power within the Taliban has also been criticised by members of the group.
On Saturday, Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban's interior minister, criticised the current situation under the Taliban in Afghanistan and within the group.
This powerful figure of the Haqqani network openly criticised the monopoly of power by the Taliban and said that the current situation is not acceptable.
According to Haqqani, the current situation increases the rifts between the Taliban government and the Afghan people.
Since the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, many countries in the region have urged the group to form an inclusive government with the participation of all ethnic groups in Afghanistan and considered this as a way out of the current deadlock.
However, the Taliban have not even stuck to the idea of symbolic power-sharing structure and have appointed their members to all government positions across the country.
