A Taliban spokesman announced the formation of the caretaker government at a press conference in Kabul.
Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, a longtime Taliban member who has been the leader of the group’s Shura or Leadership Council for about two decades, was appointed prime minister. He is seen as an influential and respected member on the religious side of the movement, rather than the military.
His replacement will be Mullah Baradar, the head of the Taliban’s political office, who led the Taliban delegation in the peace talks in Qatar.
Two senior figures in the Haqqani Network, a U.S.-designated terrorist group aligned with the Taliban and al-Qaeda, will be in the caretaker government. Both have been sanctioned by the United Nations and the United States.
Sirajuddin Haqqani, the network leader, will be the acting interior minister. Haqqani is one of two Taliban deputy leaders since 2016 and has a $ 10 million reward in the United States. Sirhaluddin’s uncle Khalil Haqqani was appointed refugee minister. Two other members of the Haqqani clan were also appointed interim government officials.
The other deputy director of the Taliban, Mullah Yaqoob, has become acting defense minister. Yaqoob is the son of Mullah Omar, the founder of the Taliban.
The announcement of key figures in the caretaker government comes weeks after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan and present the first picture of how its leadership of the country will begin to take shape.
“Our government will not be based on ethnicity. We will not allow this kind of policy,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said.
A notable omission of the government announcement was any function within a women’s ministry. Zabihullah would only say that the Taliban would address this issue.
Taliban leaders have publicly insisted that women will play a prominent role in society in Afghanistan and have access to education. But they have not participated in talks on forming a government. In recent weeks, the Taliban have indicated that women should stay at home, and in some cases, militants have ordered women to leave their jobs.
Some Afghan women have taken to the streets in Kabul and the provincial capitals, risking their security in protests to demand equal rights under the Taliban government and full participation in political life.
In response to questions about the handling of protests by the Taliban, Zabihullah said illegal demonstrations would not be allowed. He said protesters must abide by the rules during the current emergency in the country.
He dismissed protesters’ claims about Pakistani interference in Afghanistan, saying they were rumors that had been circulating for two decades.