Taliban Seeks Backing From Hazara, Shia Communities With Gathering In Ghazni

The Taliban hosted a gathering in Ghazni province on Sunday aimed at building support among Afghanistan’s Hazara and Shia communities.

Several Hazara politicians who served in the former government publicly expressed support for the Taliban at the event and called on opposition figures to return to the country.

The event was organised by the Taliban-backed High Shia Commission of Afghanistan, which said in a statement that a number of former generals, senior officials and civil servants from the previous administration attended.

According to Taliban-run Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA), hundreds of people participated in the event. Among the speakers were Ghulam Ali Wahdat, former governor of Bamiyan, and Mohammad Ali Akhlaqi, a former member of parliament and current head of the commission.

Speakers largely focused on urging the international community to recognise the Taliban administration and unfreeze Afghanistan’s foreign-held assets.

Addressing the audience, Akhlaqi said: “If you truly want our progress, then cooperate with this regime, engage with it, and recognise it. If you’re waiting for a government that merely follows your commands, that’s not going to happen.” He also praised the Taliban’s performance over the past four years and called on exiled political figures to return.

Wahdat said he now lives peacefully under Taliban rule and echoed the call for former military and political leaders to return to Afghanistan.

Jafar Sadeqi, head of the commission’s legal committee, added: “The Shia community has no problem with the Islamic Emirate, and we support all of its achievements.”

Mohammad Sangar, a former military officer, also encouraged ex-servicemen to return, stating that “the Islamic Emirate is based on principles that must be obeyed.”

The Taliban recently established the High Shia Commission of Afghanistan in an effort to build ties with the Shia population. The commission periodically organises gatherings in Shia-majority areas to demonstrate support for the Taliban administration.

Akhlaqi said the commission seeks to serve as a bridge between the Taliban and the Shia community, while advocating for their demands.

However, despite some expressions of support from Hazara and Shia figures inside Afghanistan, the Taliban has yet to meet key demands from these communities. The Taliban government continues to recognise only Hanafi jurisprudence in legal matters, excluding Jafari jurisprudence, which was officially used under the previous government to adjudicate personal status issues for the Shia minority.

Furthermore, aside from a few Hazara officials appointed as deputy ministers in lower-profile ministries, there are no Hazara or Shia representatives in the Taliban’s cabinet or top decision-making bodies.