KABUL: Afghanistan’s supreme leader on Saturday urged Afghans to respect sharia law and called for good relations with the international community, in a rare message marking the end of Ramazan.

In a written message ahead of Eidul Fitr, supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada said: “Injustice and being opposed to Sharia leads to insecurity.”

Hibatullah, who lives in southern Kandahar province — the Taliban’s spiritual heartland — and is rarely seen in public, reiterated that the Taliban authorities “seek diplomatic and economic relations with all nations”.

“In the realm of international relations among all countries, we aim to pursue a balanced and economically focused policy in the light of the holy religion of Islam.”

The Eid message came after a recording attributed to Hibatullah that circulated in January was sha­red widely again in recent weeks.

In that audio clip, he vowed to implement punishments used under the Taliban’s previous rule from 1996 to 2001, such as public stoning of women for adultery, sparking condemnation from rights groups and the United Nations.

In a recent interview with Afghanistan’s Tolo News, Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said stoning was part of sharia law and that it would be used again “if the conditions for it arise”. The Taliban authorities have not officially commented on the audio clip.