KABUL — Taliban say their leader Hibatullah Akhundzada led Eid al-Adha prayers in the southern city of Kandahar. At the same time, in Kabul, two rival Eid prayer gatherings were held by different wings of the Taliban leadership, in the Arg and Sapidar Palaces.
The Kandahar ceremony was heavily guarded and closed to the press, as is customary for appearances by Akhundzada, whose public presence remains strictly controlled. Taliban officials claimed thousands were in attendance, though residents described a subdued gathering amid road closures and a strong security presence around the Eid Gah Mosque and Kandahar University.
At Sapidar Palace, Abdul Kabir, the Taliban acting minister of refugees and repatriation, led one of the city’s two Eid prayers. He was joined by Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, Khalid Hanafi, the Taliban minister for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, and some foreign diplomats. Kabir used the occasion to denounce Israeli attacks in Gaza and call for national unity, saying every Afghan “should feel peace and dignity in their own land.” He also reaffirmed the Taliban’s support for “constructive engagement with the world under Islamic principles.”
Kabir, a former deputy chief minister with close ties to the Haqqanis, has refused to move his office from Sapidar to the official refugees ministry compound, continuing to operate from the former executive seat of power — a symbolic stance seen as reflecting his enduring political ambition.
Just meters away, at the Arg (Presidential) Palace, a second Eid prayer was led by Taliban chief minister Hasan Akhund, flanked by Taliban deputy chief ministers Abdul Ghani Baradar and Abdul Salam Hanafi. The gathering appeared to represent the core Kandahar-aligned leadership, further highlighting the parallel centers of gravity within the Taliban’s governance structure.
Addressing the Eid congregation, Taliban chief minister Hasan Akhund called on religious scholars to serve as protectors of the Islamic system and to uphold the principles of Sharia-based governance.
“We must not allow the light of the Islamic system to be extinguished,” he said.
Akhund also praised the Taliban’s handling of the recent influx of returning refugees, citing what he described as effective coordination and the provision of shelter.
He urged Afghans living abroad to return, assuring them of their safety. He reaffirmed the Taliban’s general amnesty, declared by their supreme leader, and encouraged returnees to resettle peacefully in their ancestral homes.
The split ceremonies — and who attended which — deepened speculation of lingering tensions between Taliban factions, particularly between Kandahar-based hardliners loyal to Akhundzada and Kabul-based political leaders associated with the Haqqanis and more internationally engaged figures.
Notably absent from all three ceremonies was Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban’s powerful interior minister, who has clashed with Akhundzada over leadership centralization. His absence, despite a recent high-profile public appearance after months of silence, has reignited questions over his standing within the movement.
The Taliban also ordered a temporary national shutdown of telecommunications from 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Eid morning, citing security concerns.
While Saudi Arabia and many other Muslim-majority countries marked Eid on Friday, the Taliban designated Saturday, June 7, as the official start of the holiday in Afghanistan, further asserting religious and political independence.
