Springtime in Afghanistan usually brings a spike in violence as the Taliban takes advantage of the thaw to launch a wave of fresh attacks. But the Taliban's leader has just issued a statement calling on Afghans to plant more trees.
In a public letter issued Sunday in four languages, including English, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada said that, "the Mujahideen and beloved countrymen must join hands in tree planting."
Shah Hussain Murtazawi, deputy spokesman for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, dismissed the statement as an attempt to "deceive public opinion" and distract from the Taliban's "crimes and destruction."
Most of Afghanistan's big cities, including the capital Kabul, are over populated and there are few public green spaces or parks.
Wahid Muzhda, a political analyst in Kabul, said that announcements like this — and other statements where they claim to be building roads and bridges — could be part of a Taliban campaign to show that they would provide enlightened leadership in areas of the country that they control.
Akhunzada's statement cites Islamic tradition and the words and deeds of the Prophet Muhammed to reinforce its environmental message.
"Plants live off soil while humans and animals live off plants. If the plants and trees are eradicated, life itself would be put in peril, Allah Almighty says."
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