islamabad the reclusive top leader of the taliban released a message tuesday lauding the changes in afghanistan since the taliban takeover and the measures they imposed after seizing the country following two decades of war the statement from hibatullah akhundzada was made public ahead of the eid alfitr holiday later this week that marks the end of the fasting muslim month of ramadan akhundzada an islamic scholar rarely appears in public or leaves the taliban heartland in afghanistans southern kandahar province he surrounds himself with other religious scholars and allies who oppose education and work for women in recent months akhundzada appears to have taken a stronger hand in directing domestic policy banning girls education after the sixth grade and barring afghan women from public life and work especially for nongovernmental organizations and the united nations the message was distributed in five languages arabic dari english pashto and urdu the taliban akhundzada says have taken significant reform measures in culture education the economy media and other fields the bad intellectual and moral effects of the 20year occupation are about to finish he said and extolled living in the light of sharia or islamic law this he instructed afghans would lead to the wellbeing of our world and the hereafter as well as eternal happiness success and salvation of our society despite initial promises of a more moderate rule than during their previous stint in power in the 1990s the taliban have imposed harsh measures since seizing afghanistan in august 2021 as us and nato forces were pulling out the taliban have also barred women from public spaces like parks and gyms and cracked down on media freedoms the measures have triggered a fierce international uproar increasing the countrys isolation at a time when its economy has collapsed and worsening a humanitarian crisis akhundzada reiterated his call for other countries to stop interfering in afghanistans internal affairs and said afghans should not rely on others for rebuilding and reconstruction efforts he stressed that the main goal of the taliban struggle was implementing islamic law in afghanistan tuesdays message came just days after the taliban shared a rare monthsold audio message from akhundzada in which he purportedly says that afghanistan would be ruined without justice handed out by the countrys new rulers