Taliban Announces an Interim Government, Ignores US Warning against Notorious Terrorist

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Sept 7: Ignoring the US warning, the Taliban on Tuesday announced the formation of a new government, though only an interim one, incorporating in it US-designated terrorist leader even as many countries are still grappling whether to recognize the new administration formed by the men till recently branded as militants.

The Taliban included the leader of a U.S.-designated terrorist organization in a new government to formally mark the group’s return to power after 20 years of war with America.

The Taliban has appointed Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund the little-known head of the Taliban’s leadership council, as the ‘acting’ Prime Minister in the new Afghan government, with the Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the main public face of the group who signed a peace deal with the Trump administration last year, and Mullah Abdus Salam will be his deputies, the Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed said at a press conference in Kabul.

“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,” he said.

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 Hebatullah himself proposed Mullah Hassan’s name to head the government, adding that the issues within ranks of the Taliban regarding the formation of the government have been resolved.

Mullah Hassan belongs to Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban, and was among the founders of the armed movement. He worked for 20 years as head of Rehbari Shura and remained close to Mullah Hebatullah. He had served as foreign minister and deputy prime minister during the Taliban’s previous government in Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.

Sirajuddin Haqqani, the head of the notorious Haqqani network who is on the FBI’s most wanted list for terrorism, and son of the famous anti-Soviet warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani, will serve as acting interior minister. That may complicate any moves by the U.S. to cooperate with the Taliban, particularly as President Joe Biden urges the Taliban to cut all ties with terrorist groups.

According to the FBI website, the US Department of State is offering a reward of up to USD 5 million for information leading directly to the arrest of Sirajuddin Haqqani, who is thought to stay in Pakistan, specifically the Miram Shah area in North Waziristan, and maintains close ties to the Taliban and al Qaeda.

The Taliban want good relations with all countries in the world, including the U.S., Mujahed told reporters. He called the cabinet a “diverse group” that included a variety of ethnicities and backgrounds, although no women were chosen.

“We’re not a tribal force,” Mujahed said, adding that the group wanted good relations with the U.S. despite the war. “We hope all countries in the world will recognize the legitimacy of our government and our Islamic regime.”

The U.S. and its allies have been watching to see whether the Taliban would form an inclusive government that can stabilize the country and prevent a return to civil war. Other demands include freedom of travel for those who want to leave Afghanistan and rights for women, who faced extreme repression when the Taliban last held power at the turn of the century.

At a briefing on Tuesday, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said she didn’t have a timeline for when the U.S. would recognize the new Taliban government and was still working to evacuate remaining Americans.

“There’s no rush to recognition,” she said. “It is really going to be dependent on what steps the Taliban takes. The world will be watching, the United States included.”

For the new Taliban government, lots is at stake. Signs of an economic crisis are brewing with prices of essential goods rising in Kabul while banks run short on cash. The U.S. has frozen roughly $9 billion in assets belonging to Da Afghanistan Bank, or DAB, the nation’s central bank, and the International Monetary Fund cut off the group from using fund reserve assets.

Mujahed made no mention of Taliban Supreme Commander Haibatullah Akhundzada, who hasn’t been seen in public since becoming the group’s leader in 2016. Mohammad Yaqoob, the son of former supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar — who refused to give up Osama bin Laden to the U.S. before the 2001 invasion — became acting defense minister.

Other key cabinet members included:

Amir Khan Muttaqi will be the Foreign Minister.

Abas Stanikzai will be the acting deputy Foreign Minister.

Mullah Yaqoob, son of the Taliban founder Mullah Mohammad Omar, will be the new defence minister,

Sirajuddin Haqqani will be the Interior Minister,

Amir Khan Muttaqi will be the Foreign Minister.

Hedayatullah Badri acting finance minister

Din Mohammad acting economy minister

Mohammad Edris acting governor of the central bank

The Taliban has sought to recast themselves in a more moderate mold: promising amnesty for their enemies, vowing to build an inclusive government with various ethnic groups, keep terrorist groups off Afghan soil and allowing women to work within the bounds of Shariah law.

But many Afghans are cautious about the promised shifts in the Taliban’s stance, highlighted by two weeks of desperate scenes at Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport. Several people died as massive crowds rushed to the tarmac soon after the terrorist group takeover, and even the suicide bombing failed to deter crowds.