Picture : Zabihullah Mujahid, Taliban Spokesperson
After Taliban spokesperson Ahmadullah Muttaki had said that preparations for the announcement of the new Afghanistan government’s formation have been completed, Sputnik reported.
Soon after the suspense finally ended as Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund, the chief of the Taliban’s powerful decision-making body ‘Rehbari Shura’, was been named as Afghanistan’s new head of state by the insurgent group’s top leader Mullah Hebatullah Akhundzada.
Akhund, the leader of the new government, served as governor of Kandahar province during the Taliban’s first reign in the 1990s. He was a close aide to the group’s co-founder Mullah Omar and held the position of deputy foreign minister.
Addressing a press conference in Kabul, Taliban Spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said that the group’s co-founder Abdul Ghani Baradar will be the acting deputy Afghan leader.
Also, Sirajuddin Haqqani, the leader of the proscribed Haqqani Network has been named the new interior minister.
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, chairman of Taliban’s Political Office in Doha, and Mullah Abdus Salam will work as deputies of Mullah Hasan in the new Taliban government, which is likely to be announced next week, The News International reported, citing multiple sources.
Mullah Hasan is presently head of the Taliban’s powerful decision-making body — Rehbari Shura or leadership council — which serves much like a government cabinet running all the group’s affairs subject to the approval of the top leader.
Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, son of Taliban founder Mullah Omar, has been named as defence minister. Hedayatullah Badri will be the acting minister of finance, while Amir Khan Muttaqi, a Taliban negotiator in Doha, was named foreign minister.
