Tuesday 7th September 2021, Taliban declared Afghanistan ‘Islamic Emirate’ and also announced its interim new government. The new cabinet entirely male, is made up of senior Taliban veterans a number of them on FBI’s most wanted list for their involvement in notorious attacks on US troops over the last two decades.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will be led by Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, as government interim Prime Minister. He is one of the Taliban founders, who is on a UN most wanted blacklist.
Another figure includes, Sirajuddin Haqqani, who was handed key post of interior minister. Haqqani, is on the FBI most wanted list with a $5 million bounty on his head. There is intelligence that he is still holding at least one American hostage. In Taliban leadership, he headed the dreaded Haqqani network that is blamed for many kidnappings and deadly attacks.
In announcing the Cabinet, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid emphasized that the appointments were temporary. He did not say how long they would serve and what would be the catalyst for a change.
The announcement of the acting cabinet is a key step towards the formation of a permanent Taliban government. The new leadership undoubtedly will suffer significant challenges, especially in an effort of stabilising the country’s torn economy and gaining international recognition.
The Taliban announcement of the new government came hours after its operatives fired their guns into the air to disperse protesters in the capital of Kabul and also arrested a couple journalists, the second time in less than a week that heavy-handed tactics were used to break up a demonstration.
