Kandahar, Afghanistan – April 14, 2025 — In a bold defense of the Taliban’s controversial justice system, Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has insisted that public executions are a fundamental component of Islamic law, asserting that the Taliban is fully committed to enforcing what it believes to be divine justice—even as international condemnation intensifies.
Akhundzada’s remarks came just days after four Afghan men were publicly executed by gunfire following murder convictions. The executions, which took place in sports stadiums across the country on Friday, represent the highest number of known executions in a single day since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021. The killings were immediately denounced by human rights organizations and the United Nations, who have long warned about the Taliban’s use of harsh corporal punishment and lack of due process.
But in a 45-minute audio address released Sunday via the Taliban’s chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on X (formerly Twitter), Akhundzada dismissed the criticism and instead framed the executions as an essential religious duty.
“We must carry out disciplinary measures, perform prayers and acts of worship. We must enter Islam completely,” Akhundzada told a gathering of Hajj instructors in the southern city of Kandahar. “Islam is not just limited to a few rituals; it is a comprehensive system of all divine commands.”
He emphasized that no aspect of Islamic teachings should be neglected, pointing specifically to the enforcement of religious punishments, or hudud, as central to the Taliban’s governance philosophy. “God has commanded not only prayer but also the implementation of His prescribed punishments,” Akhundzada declared. “This is not about revenge or political control. The Taliban’s struggle has always been for the application of Islamic law.”
His speech marks one of the clearest public justifications yet from the Taliban’s highest authority for its return to capital punishment and public executions, which were also hallmarks of the regime’s earlier rule in the late 1990s. During that time, punishments such as amputations, floggings, and executions in stadiums drew global outrage and cemented the Taliban’s reputation for extreme interpretations of Sharia law.
Since their return to power in August 2021, the Taliban have repeatedly eschewed international legal norms, insisting that Western legal frameworks are not compatible with Afghanistan’s religious and cultural identity. Akhundzada himself has often remained reclusive and rarely appears in public, but his decrees and speeches form the ideological bedrock of the Taliban’s theocratic rule.
The recent executions have reignited alarm among rights advocates and observers, many of whom argue that the Taliban’s justice system lacks transparency, legal safeguards, and fair trial standards. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) expressed “deep concern” over the reimplementation of capital punishment, particularly when carried out in public venues intended for communal and recreational use.
Yet within Afghanistan, the Taliban’s leadership appears unmoved by such concerns. Akhundzada’s latest speech underscores a broader strategy of religious consolidation, in which the regime seeks legitimacy not through international recognition but through strict adherence to Islamic doctrine as interpreted by Taliban scholars.
As the global community continues to debate how to engage with Taliban-led Afghanistan, Akhundzada’s firm stance signals that the regime is not prepared to soften its judicial or social policies in exchange for aid or diplomatic concessions. Instead, the message from Kandahar is clear: the Taliban believe they are fulfilling a divine mandate, and no external pressure will alter that course.
