This archive report was first published on 3 October 2021.
On October 3, 2021, a large crowd of Taliban supporters gathered in a vast field to the north of Kabul, marking a significant show of strength as the Islamist group consolidates its rule in Afghanistan.
The rally, which drew over 1,500 attendees, was attended exclusively by men and boys, who heard speeches from leading Taliban officials and commanders at Kohdaman township in the hilly outskirts of the capital.
Flanked by white and black Taliban standards and fighters in combat gear carrying assault rifles, the speakers addressed the audience, which sat in rows of chairs under awnings.
As the event progressed, more supporters arrived, leaving several hundred to watch from chairs in the midday sun.
Mawlawi Muslim Haqqani, the deputy minister of Hajj and Religious Affairs, hailed the Taliban's takeover, stating that Christians and Westerners had been defeated.
A string of men also railed against the United States, with one speaker urging the crowd to 'respect elders' because they were the 'mujahids who fought against the Soviets' in the 1980s.
The rally was a display of the Taliban's power and influence in Afghanistan, as the group looks to consolidate its rule in the country.
