Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has ordered the removal of the “acting” designation from all positions in the group’s administration, marking the fourth anniversary of its return to power.

In a statement released Friday, Akhundzada directed ministers and officials to stop using the term when referring to the Taliban government. Since the cabinet was announced in September 2021, its members have served as “acting” ministers, a title Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said in June was retained for political reasons.

“All ministers and cabinet members should avoid using the word ‘acting,’” Akhundzada said in the message, urging officials to “serve the Sharia system and Muslims.”

He described the Taliban’s return to power on 15 August 2021 as Afghanistan’s “liberation from American occupation and its allies” and claimed the country now enjoys nationwide security and has been freed from “corruption, oppression, land usurpations, narcotics, theft, looting, and plunder” under Sharia law.

Akhundzada, who has never appeared in public and communicates only through written and audio statements, also praised what he called the “sacred Sharia system” established since the end of the war.

The Taliban refer to 15 August as “Victory Day,” while many Afghans mark it as a “Dark Day” in the nation’s history.

Four years ago, then-President Ashraf Ghani fled to Uzbekistan, and later the United Arab Emirates, as the Taliban entered Kabul, sealing the collapse of the Western-backed Afghan Republic and its military. In the weeks prior, the group had already seized control of most major cities.

Since taking power, Akhundzada has issued decrees imposing sweeping restrictions, particularly on women and girls. Human rights groups have described the Taliban’s policies as a form of “gender apartheid.”

The Taliban have barred girls from attending school beyond grade six, closed universities to women, banned most forms of female employment, and prohibited women from travelling without a male guardian.