Hibatullah Akhundzada appears rarely in public, and is content with marking the four-year anniversary of the Western world's military retreat in Afghanistan with a written statement.
"Our people should recall these great divine blessings, and during the celebration of the day of victory express great gratitude to the almighty Allah", he writes. Those who do not do so will have a hard time, he threatens: "If we, against Allah's will, fail to express gratitude for the blessings and are not grateful, the almighty will punish us severely"
However, it is unclear how many inhabitants share his gratitude. Women and girls are brutally discriminated against, and a galloping humanitarian crisis is worsened by climate change, less aid from the outside world and large quantities of Afghans returning when they are no longer allowed to stay in countries such as Pakistan and Iran.
The commemoration of the anniversary is also more subdued compared to last year, when the extreme Islamists, among other things, held a military parade at a former American base.
