And their early actions have dashed many Afghans' hopes that the Taliban might have changed in the intervening decades. The Taliban's leader, Mawlawi Haibatullah Akhundzada, took over in 2016 after the group's previous leader Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour was killed in a US airstrike in Pakistan. It is questionable whether the Taliban's harsh interpretation of Sharia law, a set of principles that govern the moral and religious lives of Muslims, has drastically changed in the past two decades. Sharia law was established 1,400 years ago and can only be amended or updated with extreme care by religious scholars, experts in the region told CNN. When last in power, the Taliban used Sharia law as justification for scores of violent and repressive punishments, including public executions.

Source: CNN August 18, 2021 19:52 UTC