World
Afghanistan's Taliban leaders issued different messages for Eid. Experts say that shows tensions
KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Messages by two influential Taliban leaders in Afghanistan this week showed tensions between hardliners and more moderate elements who want to scrap harsher policies and attract more outside support, experts said Thursday.
The messages for Eid al-Fitr marking the end of Ramadan were delivered by supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, who defended the imposition of Islamic law and railed against the international community for its criticism, and Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, who called on the Taliban to be humble and avoid behaving in ways that make Afghans unhappy.
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The Taliban seized power in 2021 amid the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces after two decades of war. Their rule, especially bans affecting women and girls, has triggered widespread condemnation and deepened their international isolation.
Afghan Taliban’s Acting Minister of Interior Sirajuddin Haqqani speaks during a ceremony in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 11, 2023. Messages by two influential Taliban leaders in Afghanistan this week showed tensions between hardliners and more moderate elements who want to scrap harsher policies and attract more outside support, experts said Thursday, April 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
The reclusive Akhundzada released two messages for Eid. In the first, a written statement issued on Saturday in seven languages including Arabic, English, Turkmen and Uzbek, he was conciliatory and pragmatic, with measured advice for officials in the Taliban-controlled administration.
He issued the second in a rare public appearance on Wednesday at Eidgah Mosque in the Taliban heartland of Kandahar in the south. His Eid sermon, a half-hour address in Pashto, was more in keeping with the tone and content of his past fiery messages.
“If anyone has any issues with us, we are open to resolving them, but we will never compromise on our principles or Islam,” he said. “At the same time, we don’t expect Islam to be disrespected. I won’t even take a step away from Shariah (Islamic law). They (the international community) object to it, saying public stoning and amputation are against their laws and human rights. You expect us to follow your laws while imposing them on us.”
Akhundzada is almost never seen in public. There are no photos from his address, and his face was concealed from the thousands of worshipers.
Haqqani released his Eid message on Wednesday in Afghanistan’s commonly spoken languages of Dari and Pashto. He called on the Taliban to avoid creating a rift between the people and authorities. And, unlike Akhundzada, he referenced the challenges facing the country.
“We know that after nearly half a century of problems and difficulties, we cannot easily and urgently expect the kind of life and possibilities we wish for, but the important thing is that the (Islamic) system and the whole nation are working to fulfill these wishes,” he said.
Michael Kugelman, director of the Wilson Center’s South Asia Institute, said Haqqani, by attempting to show a softer side, was looking to draw trust and support from a broader Afghan public aware of the Taliban’s “brutal form” of governance. But for Akhundzada, the Eid sermon was about consolidating support and loyalty in his circle.
The messages also had a global audience in mind. The Haqqani network seeks investment and aid from the international community, Kugelman said.
“Projecting a softer side is likely meant to make potential donors more comfortable. With the emir (Akhundzada) it’s about signalling that the Taliban’s social agenda, especially its abhorrent policies toward women, isn’t up for negotiation,” he said.
The Taliban have barred women from education beyond sixth grade, most jobs and public spaces like parks. They have implemented corporal punishment and public executions, practices seen during their first period of rule in the late 1990s. The economy is now in decline and Afghans are experiencing drought, hunger, and displacement on a massive scale.
Pakistani journalist and author Ahmed Rashid, who has written several books about Afghanistan and the Taliban, said the two leaders were sending a strong message to the faithful that nothing has changed despite pressure from the West.
“There are clearly divisions within the Taliban but they’re holding together,” Rashid said. “There are moderate elements that want to see women educated, but they’re not in a strong position so they’re biding their time.”
He described Akhundzada as a skilled communicator who used his mosque training to great effect. “It’s how he establishes his writ. But he doesn’t answer questions that people are asking. There are elements of Afghan society who want something better.”
Haqqani has previously spoken out against the Taliban’s leadership and decision-making process, drawing a rebuke from chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.
But Haqqani didn’t overstep in his Eid message, according to Rashid. “He is on the periphery, but he is very popular. His support base is pushing him forward.”
The Taliban’s double messaging is also part of a skillful campaign to show they have influence and clout at home and abroad, he said: “They’re saying, ‘We can spread the word.’ They have done this with pride and conviction.”
No country recognizes the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. But some important regional players, including China, Iran and Pakistan, have formal diplomatic relations with them.
Iranians mourning the country’s supreme leader condemned U.S. strikes that Washington called retaliation for Iran’s attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. At a tightly controlled state funeral in Mashhad — one of Iran’s most conservative cities, where opponents of the government were unlikely to be found in the crowd — mourners voiced defiance and called for revenge.
World
Beloved musicians among victims in deadly Bahamas plane crash; aviation authority grounds flights
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A devastating double-aviation crisis in the Bahamas, including a deadly North Andros plane crash and a separate aircraft fire on Friday, prompted the government to suspend flight operations for a local airline and launch a federal safety probe.
Shortly after 1 p.m. local time Friday, a Cessna 402 aircraft with Bahamian registration departed Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau bound for San Andros Airport.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA) said the plane “encountered difficulties” and crashed into bushes prior to landing.
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Authorities said 10 people were killed in a Bahamas plane crash on Friday. (Our News Bahamas via AP)
First responders, including the Royal Bahamas Police Force, Airport Authority and emergency medical personnel, rushed to the dense brush where the aircraft went down.
The Bahamas Musicians and Entertainers Union confirmed in a statement Saturday that 10 people died in the crash, including prominent members of the “The Pond Band” and a local DJ, whose artistry the union said “touched so many lives and helped to enrich the cultural fabric of The Bahamas.”
Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis said a sole survivor was pulled from the wreckage.
“Ann and I are praying for the families who are now facing unbearable grief,” Davis wrote in a statement on X. “We are also praying for the survivor, whose recovery and care will remain in our thoughts.”
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The identities of those killed in the crash have not yet been released.
While the AAIA’s preliminary reports initially indicated seven people were on board, officials are still establishing the facts of the flight manifest.
Just hours before the fatal crash in North Andros, a Flamingo Air flight en route to Mayaguana was forced to turn back to Nassau after the pilot reported a concern, according to the Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Aviation (MoET).
After the aircraft landed and passengers safely deplaned, the plane caught fire on the runway.
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FILE – The Civil Aviation Authority Bahamas temporarily suspended Flamingo Air’s Air Operator Certificate following two aircraft incidents Friday. (iStock)
Following the two back-to-back safety incidents, the Civil Aviation Authority Bahamas (CAAB) temporarily suspended Flamingo Air’s Air Operator Certificate, according to MoET officials.
“The suspension is a precautionary safety measure and should not be treated as an adverse compliance action against Flamingo Air,” the agency wrote in a statement.
FILE – The plane crashed in North Andros on Friday after taking off from Lynden Pindling International Airport. (Melissa Alcena/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Investigators from the AAIA and inspectors from the CAAB remain at the scene in North Andros as they work to determine what caused the Cessna 402 tragedy.
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Flamingo Air did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Published on •Updated
Moldova’s pro-European President Maia Sandu nominated businessman Vasile Tofan on Saturday as the country’s next prime minister to replace Alexandru Munteanu, who resigned earlier this month over differences with the ruling majority.
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In a video posted to social media, Sandu said Tofan’s primary responsibility, after his candidacy is approved by the country’s parliament, would be to move the country further towards its path of “integration” into the European Union.
He should also “strengthen the resilience of state institutions and society”, and “revive the economy”, added Sandu.
The Moldovan businessman now has two weeks to secure parliamentary backing, a prospect he hopes to achieve after submitting his government programme and his ministerial cabinet nominations.
Tofan had been mentioned as a possible prime minister last year even before the appointment of Munteanu.
Igor Grosu, who heads Sandu’s Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) which won the last parliamentary elections in September, announced on Friday that he had selected him as his candidate to replace the outgoing premier.
He said Tofan shared “the same objectives” as him and PAS, specifying that “EU accession in the years to come, institutional reform and economic growth”, were among the biggest points of agreement.
The nominee for prime minister, who graduated Harvard Business School and turns 44 on Sunday, has a degree in public management from the Netherlands and is a managing partner at Horizon Capital, a private equity firm with assets primarily in Ukraine and Moldova.
He has also chaired the board of directors of Moldova’s Purcari winery, considered the crown jewel of the country’s winemaking sector.
Munteanu, another businessman who like Sandu previously worked at the World Bank, had been chosen to boost the economy and bring it closer to the EU, but turbulence with PAS saw him vacate his post less than a year into holding office.
He resigned on 3 July after less than eight months, stating that he could no longer carry out his mandate “according to (his) principles and (his) convictions”.
The EU last month officially launched a first round of accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova. Both countries became official EU candidate countries on 23 June 2022.
Additional sources • AFP
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