Taliban Leader Approves “Law on the Preservation of Jihadi Heritage”
Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s supreme leader, has ratified the “Law on the Preservation of Jihadi Heritage,” a legal framework requiring various Taliban institutions to collect, document, and preserve narratives, records, and artifacts related to the group’s two-decade insurgency. The law, consisting of two chapters and 14 articles, was published on Monday, 8 June, by the Taliban’s Ministry of Justice.
Under the legislation, both civilian and military Taliban entities are obligated to gather, record, and disseminate written and audio accounts of the group’s war against NATO forces and the former Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The law also establishes a dedicated department within the Taliban’s Ministry of Information and Culture, titled the General Directorate for the Preservation of Jihadi Heritage.
According to Article 7, the directorate will be responsible for documenting and preserving both the tangible and intangible legacy of the Taliban’s conflict between 2001 and 2021, recording the history of the Taliban movement’s formation, and documenting what the law describes as the “crimes and atrocities of the enemy.”
Article 12 stipulates that the directorate is prohibited from registering, preserving, or publishing images of living beings. Consequently, all records and narratives must be maintained exclusively in written or audio formats.
The law further mandates, under Article 8, the documentation and preservation of suicide attacks and related incidents. The directorate is also tasked with recording and archiving what the legislation characterizes as the “moral, cultural, ideological, and political deviations” of the former republic, as well as instances of “ethnic, regional, and linguistic discrimination.”
Another provision calls for the exhibition of selected military equipment including tanks, helicopters, artillery pieces, combat vehicles, and other war-related hardware in museums. Where original equipment is unavailable, replicas are to be produced and displayed for public viewing.
The legislation additionally emphasizes the preservation of items used by Taliban fighters during the insurgency, including light and heavy weapons, landmines, improvised explosive barrels, rockets, booby traps, and remote-control detonation devices. Detailed written records of these materials are to be maintained.
The new law also defines intangible cultural products as part of the Taliban’s jihadi heritage. Stories, memoirs, poems, songs, oral histories, and accounts celebrating fallen Taliban fighters are among the materials designated for collection and preservation, although the use of photographs depicting such individuals remains prohibited.
In recent years, the Taliban have organized exhibitions under the banner of “Jihadi Heritage” in Kabul, Kandahar, Kapisa, and several other provinces. These exhibitions have showcased a range of wartime equipment and materials, including suicide vests, improvised explosive barrels, magnetic mines, and other military-related items. In some instances, reports have also emerged of unexploded ordnance and munitions being displayed at these events.
Writer:Salima Aryaei
