Thousands gather at all- male meeting to rubber- stamp Taliban rule

Thousands of Afghan religious scholars and tribal elders gathered in the capital Thursday for a men- only meeting the Taliban hope will rubber- stamp their hard- line Islamic rule.

Officials have provided scant details of the “jirga” – a traditional gathering of influential people that settles differences by consensus – and the media is also barred from attending.

It comes a week after a powerful earthquake struck the east of the country killing over 1,000 people and leaving tens of thousands homeless.

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.

A Taliban source told AFP this week that criticism of the regime would be allowed at the three- day jirga, and thorny issues such as the education of girls – which has divided opinion in the movement – would be discussed.

But women would not be allowed to attend, with deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi telling state broadcaster RTA on Wednesday there was no need because they would be represented by male relatives.

“The women are our mothers and sisters... we respect them a lot,” he said.

“When their sons are in the gathering it means they are also involved.”

A letter from the prime minister’s office seen by AFP said each of Afghanistan’s more than 400 districts should provide three delegates to the meeting.

Cities, religious groups and other organizations would also be sending representatives, bringing the gathering to over 3,000 – the biggest leadership collective since the Taliban returned to power. Afghan media is abuzz with speculation that Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada may attend the gathering.