Public executions are a part of Islam, a leader of the Afghanistan terrorist organization vowed Saturday, days after four men were killed by gunfire as cheering crowds watched on.
The executions took place in packed sports stadiums and represent the highest number known to have been carried out in one day since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
Rights groups and the U.N. condemned the killings while Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has previously rejected the need for Western laws in Afghanistan, AP reports.
“We will not abandon the enforcement of these rulings, even if it costs us our lives,” Akhundzada said during a religious seminar in Kandahar, referring specifically to the punishment of qisas, or retributive justice. “We will not yield to Western pressure.”
In an audio clip released Sunday by the Taliban’s chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on X, the outlet reports Akhundzada further said:
We must carry out disciplinary measures, perform prayers and acts of worship. We must enter Islam completely.
Islam is not just limited to a few rituals; it is a comprehensive system of all divine commands.
Not a single command of Islam should be left unfulfilled, he reportedly told a seminar of Hajj instructors during a 45-minute speech in southern Kandahar province.
God had commanded people to pray and to enforce his punishments, said Akhundzada, adding the Taliban did not wage war for power or wealth but rather to “implement Islamic law”.
He rejected criticism of the public executions which drew crowds in their thousands.
Afghan men leave after watching the public execution of a man held a football stadium in Farah province on April 11, 2025. Four men were publicly executed in Afghanistan on April 11, the highest number of executions to be carried out in one day since the Taliban’s return to power. (AFP via Getty Images)
Akhundzada’s comments come as the Taliban seek greater engagement with the international community, most recently the West, and after the Taliban’s morality police detained men and their barbers over hairstyles.
The ban on women’s voices being heard in public also still stands in Afghanistan.
Follow Simon Kent on Twitter: Follow @SunSimonKent or e-mail to: skent@breitbart.com
Read the full article here
