Taliban leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada is seen in an undated photograph, posted on a Taliban twitter feed on May 25, 2016, and identified separately by several Taliban officials, who declined be named. Social Media
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan 鈥� When the Taliban overran Kabul in mid-August, seizing power for the second time, the years-old mystery over the whereabouts of the movement鈥檚 Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada deepened further.
Whether the elderly cleric is alive or dead is something many Afghans are uncertain about, and even the most dedicated analysts have doubts about who is really leading the group.
AFP went on the trail of the elusive leader, and the findings are inconclusive.
On October 30 鈥� two months after a Taliban spokesman insisted Akhundzada was alive and well in Kandahar 鈥� rumours swirled in the southern city that the 鈥渆mir鈥� had delivered a speech at a Koranic school, or madrassa.
Taliban officials gave their stamp of authenticity to his appearance at the Hakimia madrassa, releasing a crackling audio recording lasting more than 10 minutes.
鈥淢ay God reward the oppressed people of Afghanistan who fought the infidels and the oppressors for 20 years,鈥� intones an aged and echoing voice, said to be that of Akhundzada.
His public profile had previously been largely limited to annual written messages released for Islamic holidays.
In one of the poorest suburbs of Kandahar, between a litter-strewn stream and a dirt track, two Taliban fighters stand guard in front of the Hakimia madrassa鈥檚 blue-and-white gate.
It has become something of a magnet since October 30, attracting curious 鈥� albeit respectfully distant 鈥� crowds of Taliban supporters.
鈥榃atching and crying鈥�
When the supreme leader visited, he was 鈥渁rmed鈥� and accompanied by 鈥渢hree security guards鈥�, the madrassa鈥檚 head of security Massum Shakrullah told AFP.
鈥淓ven cellphones and sound recorders鈥� were not allowed into the venue, he added.
One of the students, Mohammed, 19, said 鈥渨e all were watching him and were just crying鈥�.
Asked if he could confirm that it was definitely Akhundzada, Mohammed said he and his peers were so overjoyed that they 鈥渇orgot to watch鈥� his face鈥�.
The need for Taliban leaders to keep vanishingly low profiles became especially pronounced in the last decade of war, as deadly US drone strikes multiplied.
Akhundzada rose to the top spot after one such strike killed his predecessor, Mullah Akhtar Mansour, in 2016.
He quickly secured the backing of Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri,聽who聽called him 鈥渢he emir of the faithful鈥�.
This endorsement by Osama bin Laden鈥檚 heir helped seal his jihadist credentials with the Taliban鈥檚 long-time allies.
The Taliban have released just one photograph of Akhundzada 鈥� five years ago, when he took the group鈥檚 reins.
And even that photo, depicting him with a grey beard, white turban and a forceful gaze, was taken two decades prior, according to the Taliban.
The supreme leader鈥檚 appearance scotched 鈥渞umours and propaganda鈥� about his death, said Maulvi Said Ahmad, who heads the madrassa where Akhundzada reportedly appeared.
He looked 鈥渆xactly the same鈥� as in the famous photo, said Mohammad Musa, 13, who watched from afar.
鈥楲ong been dead鈥�
Officials of the ousted Afghan regime and many Western analysts are sceptical, believing that Akhundzada died years ago.
For them the madrassa visit was a carefully choreographed deception.
There is a precedent 鈥� the Taliban pretended founder Mullah Omar was alive for two years following his death in 2013.
Akhundzada himself 鈥渉as long been dead and had no role before the takeover of Kabul鈥�, one security official of the former regime told AFP.
He was killed alongside his brother in a suicide attack in Quetta, Pakistan, 鈥渁bout three years ago鈥�, the source believes.
This theory, sometimes with slight variations, is seen as credible by several foreign intelligence agencies.
A separate regional security source told AFP that 鈥渘obody would confirm and nobody would deny鈥� Akhundzada鈥檚 purported death.
The Pentagon and the CIA, meanwhile, did not respond to AFP鈥檚 request for comment on the rumours of Akhundzada鈥檚 death.
Eminent scholar
In Panjwai, a district on a vast arid plateau near Kandahar, everyone knows of the Akhundzadas, a line of respected theologians.
The emir was born in the village of Sperwan.
鈥淎t the time of the Soviet invasion (1979) fighting broke out in the village and Hibatullah left for Pakistan,鈥� Niamatullah, a young fighter and former student of the supreme leader, told AFP.
After this first move to Pakistan, Akhundzada became a respected scholar and earned the title 鈥淪heikh al-Hadith鈥�, a distinction reserved for the most eminent scholars of the Prophet Mohammed鈥檚 sayings.
In the early 1990s, as the Islamist insurgency was taking hold in the wake of the Soviet occupation, Akhundzada, then in his thirties, returned to the village.
He would hold consultations with visitors from 鈥渢he city and from Pakistan鈥�, remembers Abdul Qayum, a 65-year-old villager.
According to snippets from his official biography, his rise was meteoric after the Taliban took power in Kabul in 1996.
After running the local madrassa, he became a judge at Kandahar provincial court, then head of the military court in Nangarhar in eastern Afghanistan until 2000.
By the time the Taliban were forced from power in late 2001, he was heading Kabul鈥檚 military court.
Akhundzada then fled to Pakistan, finding sanctuary in Quetta.
His mastery of Islamic law made him the head of the Taliban鈥檚 shadow justice system and the acclaimed trainer of a whole generation of fighters who graduated through Quetta.
鈥楥enter of gravity鈥�
Akhundzada was 鈥渢he centre of gravity for the Taliban鈥� keeping the group intact鈥�, one Pakistan-based Taliban member told AFP.
According to this source, who says he has met the supreme leader three times 鈥� the last time in 2020 鈥� Akhundzada does not use modern technology.
He prefers to make phone calls on landlines and communicates via letters to the Taliban officials who now make up the government and with whom he retains a strong rapport.
He would have given the green light to the final offensive against the old regime and kept track of operations from Kandahar, where he had already been discreetly installed for several months, the Pakistani source said.
The continued fear of elimination, even after the end of the war with the Americans, explains Akhundzada鈥檚 continued low profile, several Taliban sources say.
And if he were already dead, a regional security source said, concerns over the rival Sunni extremist group, the Islamic State鈥檚 local chapter (IS-K), would in part explain the Taliban concealing the news 鈥� as any such announcement could prompt defections.
鈥淚f they announce Akhundzada is no more and we are looking for a new emir, it will factionalise the Taliban and IS-K could take advantage,鈥� he said.
Despite the speculation, the Taliban insist nothing is untoward.
The emir is 鈥渓eading in an orderly manner鈥�, a spokesman told AFP, adding 鈥渋t is not necessary鈥� for him to appear publicly.