Without pictures : The first public appearance of the supreme leader of the Taliban movement

Officials in the Taliban government announced the first public appearance of the supreme leader of the movement, Mullah Hebatullah Akhundzada, with his participation in a gathering at a Quranic school under very heavy guard, while he was not allowed to take pictures of him.

Taliban officials announced that the movement's supreme leader, Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, who has not previously appeared officially on any occasion since his appointment in 2016, participated in a gathering at a Quranic school, on Saturday evening, in Kandahar, southern Afghanistan.

The Taliban government said in a statement on Sunday that "the Commander of the Faithful, Sheikh Hebatullah Akhundzada, appeared in a large gathering at the famous Dar Al-Uloom Al-Hakim school and spoke for ten minutes to the brave soldiers and students," according to an audio recording carried by accounts of Afghan officials.

In this audio recording, the voice of Mullah Akhundzada is heard indistinctly as he recites prayers.

A local source stated that Mullah Akhundzada arrived at this Quranic school in Kandahar in a convoy of two cars, under very heavy guard, and it was not allowed to take pictures of him, according to the French Press Agency.

Last September, the Taliban announced that its supreme leader had been residing "from the beginning" in Kandahar, after it had been silent for a long time about his whereabouts, while confirming at the time that he would appear "soon to the public."

Akhundzada was relatively unknown before he took over the leadership of the movement in 2016, succeeding Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour, who was killed in a strike on an American march in Pakistan and was more interested in judicial and religious matters than military matters.