Taliban-backed Shia conference draws thousands in Kabul

Supporters see it as outreach, while critics call it a propaganda move.

On 27 February 2025, the High Commission of the Shias of Afghanistan held a conference at the Loya Jirga tent in Kabul. According to the invitation card for the event shared in a report by Etilaat Roz on 27 February, the conference was meant to review the current situation in Afghanistan and strengthen national unity. The main banner of the event, however, read: “The Great Conference of the Shias of Afghanistan on Strengthening National Unity and in Support of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan”.

According to a post on 28 February 2025 by a Facebook page attributed to the Commission, more than 8,000 Shia Afghans attended the conference. In another post on 1 March 2025, the Commission shared a note of appreciation, claiming the conference was attended by politicians, scholars, influential figures, university lecturers, business people, representatives and chiefs of various Police Districts of Kabul.

Several Shia and Hazara politicians and scholars, including former Members of Parliament (MPs), participated in the Conference and delivered speeches, such as former MP and pro-Taliban figure Jafar Mahdavi, former MP and member of Hezb-e Wahdat (a Hazara political party established in 1989) Asadullah Saadati, and leading Shia scholar Sayed Abu-ul-Hassan Fazelzada.

Several high-ranking Taliban members also attended the conference and delivered speeches, including the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Minister of Borders and Tribal Affairs Mawlawi Noorullah Noori, the President of the Afghan Red Crescent Society Shahabuddin Delawar, and others. In his speech, delivered in Farsi/Dari, Mullah Baradar said:

“The Afghan nation is made up of different ethnicities, languages, and religions. This linguistic, cultural and religious diversity is to know each other and must not be looked upon with bigotry and discrimination”.

Online reactions

Taliban-run and pro-Taliban media outlets widely covered the event. Meanwhile, Accounts on X attributed to Taliban officials and Taliban supporters also posted about the event. For instance, on 27 February 2025, the official account of the Taliban’s Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Office posted about the event and Mullah Baradar’s speech.

On the other hand, anti-Taliban figures criticised the conference and the Taliban’s policies towards Shias since their return to power. Former MP and ethnic Hazara Arif Rahmani wrote on X on 27 February:

“The Taliban, in a meeting held in collaboration with the High Commission of Shias in Kabul, once again attempted to demonstrate that they are committed to preserving national unity and peaceful coexistence among Afghanistan’s ethnicities and religions. However, the performance of the Taliban’s more than three-and-a-half-year rule shows that this group has not only failed to take practical steps toward establishing social justice, equal rights, and the participation of all ethnicities and religions in the country’s political structure, but in numerous instances, they have pursued discriminatory, repressive, and systematic elimination policies against minorities, particularly the Shia and Hazara communities”.

Moreover, on 27 February, Bismillah Taban, former General Director of the Criminal Investigation Department under the previous government, claimed in a post on X that:

“the Taliban, with money, threats, and force, gathered a number of residents from western Kabul in the Loya Jirga tent, attempting through a false and fabricated display to whitewash their image and gain support”.

Background

The High Commission of the Shias of Afghanistan was previously called the Commission for Addressing the General Issues Faced by the Shiite Community in Afghanistan. It was reportedly established by the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) in November 2021 and spearheaded by Mawlawi Zakerullah Qanet, a non-Shia and an ethnic Pashtun with Salafi beliefs, for nearly two years after its establishment.

Two reports published by the Independent Persian and Jomhor News, published in June 2023 and February 2025 respectively, state that during his tenure as the head of the Commission, Qanet vehemently opposed other parallel initiatives by Shia and Hazara scholars and elders.

The Commission later elected Mohammad Ali Akhlaqi, a former MP and ethnic Hazara, as its head, a position he still holds. In a speech published by a YouTube channel called Information TV on 5 July 2024, Akhlaqi provided brief information about the Commission and pointed out that it was established in close coordination with the GDI.

Akhlaqi said that the commission had addressed “hundreds” of legal cases involving Shia and Hazara people since it was established. He also stated that the Taliban leadership in Kandahar and Kabul officially had approved the commission and its structure, promising to pay several members. Akhlaqi noted that the Taliban also covered the daily expenses of the Commission’s office in Kabul. According to Jomhor News, the Taliban financed the conference in Kabul and set the agenda and speakers for the event. The Commission had previously held a conference in Mazar-e Sharif, Balkh, in January 2025.

Remarks

The recent conference by the High Commission of the Shias of Afghanistan — a group established in close coordination with the Taliban’s GDI — appears to be a PR effort by the Taliban to demonstrate support from Shia and Hazara communities. A strong indication of this is the attendance of high-ranking Taliban officials, such as Mullah Baradar.

In practice, however, the Taliban continue to largely sideline Shia and Hazaras under their de facto administration. There is not a single Hazara or Shia member in the Taliban cabinet, and representation is also very low in other positions within the Taliban administration. Additionally, the Taliban have also taken other recent steps to marginalise Shias, including annulling the Shia Personal Status Law and removing Jafari jurisprudence education from the curriculum in Bamyan University.