Taliban Minister of Justice appears in Saudi Arabia after a 48-day absence

After 48 days of absence, Abdul Hakim Sharia, the Taliban’s Minister of Justice, who is on the European Union’s sanctions list, attended the International Conference on Building Bridges Between Islamic Denominations in the city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

The conference, which was held for two days with the participation of scholars and clerics from Islamic countries, was held on Friday. Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman for the Taliban, announced the participation of Abdul Hakim Shariai in the conference.

Recently, it was reported that Abdul Hakim Sharia is in a trip to Dubai and there is possibility of his resignation from the Taliban’s Ministry of Justice.

Recently, the audio recording of Abdul Hakim Shariai leaked where he was talking about his resigning from his position as Minister of Justice in protest against widespread corruption and tribalism among Taliban officials. In the audio recording, he emphasizes that he has resigned from his position many times due to widespread corruption among the group’s officials, but his resignation has not been accepted.

Did Sharia resigned before going to Dubai and now he appeared in Saudi Arabia  

However, the Ministry of Justice rejected his resignation said that Abdul Hakim Sharai’s resignation, said that he had gone to Dubai but had not resigned from his position. The ministry said that Mr. Sharai went to Dubai for treatment under the guidance of Haibatullah Akhundzada and will soon return to the country and take care of his official duties.

The last news from the Taliban Ministry of Justice about Abdul Hakim Sharia was published on January 19, and since then, no news or occasional messages have been published from his address.

The Taliban have not provided details about Abdul Hakim Sharia’s illness, and it is still unclear when he went to Saudi Arabia.

Abdul Hakim Sharia is on the global sanctions list. The European Union sanctioned this Taliban official in January 2013 for his role in depriving women of work and education. Along with him, the Taliban’s education minister and the group’s chief justice were also sanctioned for gender-based violence.

The European Union said that Abdul Hakim Shariai had systematically tried to manipulate the judicial system against women. The union cited the Taliban official’s misogynistic actions, including revoking women’s attorney licenses, depriving women of legal and judicial representation, and preventing the implementation of the law prohibiting violence against women.

The European Union has accused Sharia of eliminating women’s legal protections and placing them in a legal vacuum, which has led to widespread human rights violations and an obstacle to justice and equality.