New Taliban regime more mature, sympathetic: Hadi

KUALA LUMPUR – The days of the Taliban administrating Afghanistan by terror and brute force are gone, said PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, describing the Deobandi Islamist movement as a more mature outfit now. 

In a lengthy statement posted on PAS’ mouthpiece Harakahdaily, Hadi said the group has also now taken a more sympathetic approach in ruling the war-torn state, despite reported violence there following the recent withdrawal of American troops. 

Among other things, the PAS president said the Taliban has declared amnesty en masse to all former government staff who cooperated with and served the United States. 

“It is also taking the approach to celebrate the diversity of the people in Afghanistan,” he said. 

This change in approach, Hadi said, is due to its scholars (ulama) who truly understand the current situation, having truly studied the Hanafi school of thought as well as current political developments. 

Hadi’s statement comes a week after his son, Batu Buruk assemblyman Muhammad Khalil Abdul Hadi, congratulated the fundamentalist Islamic force for its swift takeover of Afghanistan. 

“Congratulations on your success in achieving ‘independence’ from the grip of ‘colonisation’ and ‘inhumane intrusion’. With this win, it is hoped that all stakeholders will work together and attain a consensus on peace to rebuild Afghanistan.” 

Khalil’s remark was widely condemned by the public, while his congratulatory post on Twitter was also taken down by the social media site. 

A spokesman for Afghan refugees in Malaysia, in speaking to The Vibes, said Malaysian political parties should educate themselves on what the Taliban has done to the people before aligning themselves with the Islamist regime. 

The Taliban, which held Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, had enforced a strict interpretation of shariah law during its time in power, which saw countless murders, kidnappings and also suicide attacks. 

The group enforced scores of restrictions and rules, including forbidding women to work or attend school, and forcing men to grow their beards and wear turbans in public. Thieves would have their limbs amputated.

On the thousands of Afghans attempting to flee the Taliban-held state, Hadi said these comprise largely of those who had served the US prior to the takeover, despite the amnesty being declared. 

He said despite the media portraying a negative image of the group during its early days in the 1990s, negotiations taking place between them and US diplomats show their ingenuity. 

To demonstrate the good in the current Taliban regime, Hadi also noted how a British journalist, Yvonne Ridley, had converted to Islam after being released from Taliban detention in October 2001. 

“This happened because of the change of leadership from immature students to leaders who are scholars who truly studied Islamic law.” – The Vibes, August 25, 2021