The Taliban’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, stated during a meeting in Kandahar with officials, religious scholars, and tribal elders from five southern zone provinces that one of the primary goals of the Taliban’s "jihad" is the promotion of virtue and the elimination of vice.
According to a newsletter from the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, the meeting was convened to implement the virtue law, strengthen Islamic values, and prevent vice.
Hibatullah Akhundzada described the duty of promoting virtue and prohibiting vice as everyone's primary responsibility, stating that religious scholars, officials, and influential figures hold a special obligation regarding the implementation of religion and societal reform. He called on scholars to play an active role in enforcing religion and reforming the public.
During the same meeting, Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, the Taliban’s Minister for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, noted that safeguarding the Islamic system is a shared responsibility. He stated that reforming society cannot be achieved solely through government efforts; rather, religious scholars, tribal elders, and community influencers must cooperate in raising religious awareness and fostering moral education.
The ministry’s newsletter added that religious scholars, tribal elders, and influential figures from the southern zone pledged their cooperation with the ministry, committing to continue their efforts to strengthen Islamic values and implement the virtue law.
These statements come as the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants on July 8, 2025, for Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, the head of the group’s Supreme Court, on charges of crimes against humanity. The ICC stated that both individuals are being prosecuted for their roles in the systematic persecution of women, girls, and other citizens on gender and political grounds.
Writer:Saeed Sameer
