Taliban hold grand council to chart Afghan progress

Kabul, Afghanistan – (AFP)

Hundreds of religious leaders and “people of influence” from around Afghanistan have been summoned to the capital to attend a three-day grand council in support of the country’s Taliban rule.

Officials provided scant details of the men-only meeting which started on Wednesday, a week after a powerful earthquake struck the east of the country killing over 1,000 people and leaving tens of thousands homeless.

A Taliban source told AFP that criticism of the regime would be allowed and thorny issues such as the education of girls, which has divided opinion in the movement, would be discussed.

The meeting is described locally as a “jirga”, a traditional gathering of influential people that discuss problems and settle differences by consensus.

Even before the quake, the Taliban were struggling to administer a country that had long been in the grip of economic malaise, utterly dependent on foreign aid that dried up with the overthrow of the Western-backed government in August.

Taliban officials insist their rule is nationally popular, but they have re-introduced a harsh version of Islam that characterized their first stint in power — specifically clamping down on the rights of women.

‘Afghans feel safe and happy’

The Taliban have become increasingly sensitive to criticism and on Tuesday government spokesman Bilal Karimi dismissed as “false information and propaganda” a Gallup global survey that said Afghans were the saddest people in the world, with the least enjoyment from life.

“A majority of Afghans feel safe and happy since the Taliban takeover,” he tweeted.

Gallup said the country’s score on the Positive Experience Index was not only a new low for Afghanistan, but also a new low for any country surveyed over the past 16 years.

“The percentage of Afghans who said they felt enjoyment, smiled or laughed, learned something interesting, or felt well-rested the previous day all dropped to new record lows,” it said.