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Taliban announce all-male interim government of Afghanistan
Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, who served as deputy prime minister in the previous Taliban-ruled government through 2001, will lead the new government as prime minister, while Sirajuddin Haqqani, the leader of the Haqqani Network, a militant group labeled by the United States as a terrorist group, was named as acting interior minister.
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The only photo available for Taliban 'Supreme Leader' Hibatullah Akhundzada. (The Jakarta Post/Twitter)
T
he Taliban on Tuesday announced an all-male interim government in Afghanistan consisting mostly of senior Taliban officials in key Cabinet posts, following their seizure of power in the country last month.
Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, who served as deputy prime minister in the previous Taliban-ruled government through 2001, will lead the new government as prime minister, while Sirajuddin Haqqani, the leader of the Haqqani Network, a militant group labeled by the United States as a terrorist group, was named as acting interior minister, Kyodo News reported.
In the first statement issued since the Taliban captured the capital Kabul in mid-August, supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada said the new government will govern in accordance with Islamic law.
The Taliban will revive the much feared Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, which repressed women under its previous rule from 1996 to 2001.
The new government -- which is made up mostly of Pashtuns, the dominant ethnic group within the Taliban -- is likely to struggle to win international recognition amid calls for an inclusive government that respects women's rights.
Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, the eldest son of the late Taliban founder Mullah Omar, was named acting defense minister. Abdul Ghani Baradar, head of the Taliban's political affairs, will be deputy prime minister, while Amir Khan Muttaqi, also involved in the Taliban's political affairs, has been named acting foreign minister.
As the Taliban released the names of 33 members of its interim government, a Taliban spokesman said the list is not yet complete and more appointments may be coming. He said the new government is set to begin work on Wednesday.
