The 'Most Wanted' Taliban leader has publicly appeared in Kabul

Sirajuddin Haqqani (center) attends a graduation ceremony at the Kabul Police Academy. March 5, 2022

ISLAMABAD - A senior Taliban leader listed by the United States as a global terrorist appeared in public on Saturday for the first time since the Islamist group Taliban seized power in Afghanistan just days before the withdrawal of US-led international forces from the country in August.

Sirajuddin Haqqani, the second-in-command of the Taliban leadership and acting interior minister of Afghanistan, addressed the gathering at a police graduation ceremony in the capital, Kabul.

Haqqani told the police force, "I have come to your court today in public, by the grace of God, to increase your confidence and to acknowledge how much the Afghan leadership values ​​you."

Haqqani is on the US 'Most Wanted' list for questioning after a 2008 attack on a hotel in Kabul killed six people, including an American citizen. Washington even announced a reward of up to কোটি 10 ​​million for information leading to his capture.

Diplomatic sources and Taliban officials said the event, aired on the Afghan state television channel RTA, was attended by ambassadors from the United Nations, including China, Russia, Pakistan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kazakhstan and Iran - although no country has yet formally recognized the Taliban government.

Haqqani assured the gathering that Afghanistan would not be a threat to any country. He also criticized the international community for suspending foreign aid to Afghanistan and refusing to accept the Taliban as a legitimate ruler.

He emphasized that the Taliban had not violated any international law, but that Afghan women were being offered jobs and education in accordance with Afghan culture and Islamic Sharia law.

Like many other Taliban leaders, the long-bearded Haqqani, wearing a white shawl and a black turban, attended the rally.

After the ceremony on Saturday, Taliban officials began broadcasting pictures and videos of Haqqanis. Earlier, he was seen blurring a picture of a meeting of foreign diplomats with the caretaker Home Minister.