In a rare public address on Wednesday, Taliban's supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada slammed the West, claiming that the US and its allies were using "evil tactics" to not allow Afghanistan to stand on its feet with billions of dollars of Afghan currency remaining frozen in American banks.
"Today, they want to divide you. They blame the leaders as defective, saying they are not able to govern. Stay alert for them, they will trick you, they want to fail you," Akhundzada in his address to the Afghan people to mark the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, the most prominent Islamic festival on the calendar.
Interestingly, this isn't the first time the Taliban has accused the US of running a propaganda campaign against its rule in the Central Asian country.
Earlier this month, the authorities in many Afghan provinces were left fuming after American drones were sighted in Kandahar where Akhundzada lives in a highly fortified residence.
Earlier this month, the authorities in many Afghan provinces were left fuming after American drones were sighted in Kandahar where Akhundzada lives in a highly fortified residence.
"The drones belong to America, which we protested many times, and this is a clear violation of Afghanistan’s airspace. The Afghan government wants these patrols to be stopped and the airspace to be respected," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said earlier this month following the sightings.
*under UN sanctions