Mullah Hasan Akhund to head 'acting' Taliban govt, Mullah Baradar his deputy; Sirajuddin Haqqani gets interior portfolio (original) (raw)
Secretive Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada , who has never been seen in public, told the new government to uphold Sharia law in a statement
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The Taliban announced Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund as the leader of their new government in Afghanistan on Tuesday.
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.
Chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid also told a press conference that Taliban co-founderAbdul Ghani Baradarwill be the deputy leader. Baradar is the chairman of Taliban’s Political Office in Doha.
Sirajuddin Haqqani, the head of the notorious Haqqani network and son of the famous anti-Soviet warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani, was also given the portfolio of interior minister.
As per The News International, the insurgent group’s top leader Mullah Hebatullah Akhundzada 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.
According to the paper, 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.
| Name | Taliban Cabinet positions |
|---|---|
| Al- Hajj, Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhand | Acting Prime Minister |
| Mullah Abdul Ghani | Deputy Prime Minister |
| Mawlawi Abdul Salam Hanafi | Deputy Prime Minister |
| Mawlawi Mohammad Yaqub Mujahid | Acting Minister of Defense |
| Alhaj Mullah Sirajuddin Haqqani | Acting Minister of Interior |
| Mawlawi Amirkhan Mottaqi | Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs |
| Mullah Hedayatull Badri | Acting Minister of Finance |
| Sheikh Molavi Noorullah Munir | Head of Ministry of Education |
| Mullah Khairullah Khairkhah | Head of Ministry of Information and Culture |
| Qari Din Hanif | Head of Ministry of Economy |
| Sheikh Molavi Noor Mohammad Saqib | Head of Ministry of Hajj and Endowments |
| Mawlawi Abdul Hakim Shari | Head of Ministry of Justice |
| Mullah Noorullah Nouri | Head of Ministry of Borders and Tribes |
| Mullah Mohammad Deons Akhandzadeh | Head of Ministry of Rural Development |
| Sheikh Mohammad Khalid | Head of Ministry of Invitation and Guidance |
| Mullah Abdul Manan Omari | Acting Minister of Public Works |
| Haji Mullah Mohammad Issa Akhand | Acting Minister of Mines and Petroleum |
| Mullah Abdul Latif Mansour | Acting Minister of Water and Electricity |
| Mullah Hamidullah Akhundzadeh | Acting Minister of Aviation and Transport |
| Mawlawi Abdul Baqi Haqqani | Acting Minister of Higher Education |
| Mawlawi Najibullah Haqqani | Acting Minister of Communications |
| Haji Khalil-ur-Rehman Haqqani | Acting Minister of Refugees |
| Mullah Abdul Haq Wathiq | Head of the General Directorate of Intelligence |
| Mullah Mohammad Fazel Mazlum | Deputy Minister of Defense |
| Mullah Abdul Haq Wathiq | Head of the General Directorate of Intelligence |
| Haji Mohammad Idris | Head of Afghanistan Bank |
| Mawlawi Ahmadjan Ahmadi | Head of Affairs |
| Mullah Mohammad Fazel Mazlum | Deputy Minister of Defense |
| Qari Fasihuddin | Head of Afghan army |
| Shir Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai | Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs |
| Rumi Noor Jalal | Deputy Minister of Interior |
| Zabihullah Mojahed | Deputy Minister of Information and Culture |
| Mullah Taj Mir Javad | First Deputy Director General of Intelligence |
| Mullah Rahmatullah Najib | Deputy Director of General Directorate of Intelligence |
| Mullah Abdul Haq Akhand | Deputy Minister of Interior in the Counter-Narcotics Department |
Mulla Yaqoob, son of the Taliban founder Mullah Mohammad Omar, will be the new defence minister, the paper said. Yaqoob was a student of Mullah Hebatullah, who had earlier appointed him as head of the powerful military commission of the Taliban. Mullah Ameer Khan Muttaqi will be the new foreign minister, according to the Taliban sources.
Sirajuddin Haqqani is a specially designated global terrorist. According to the FBI website, the US department of state is offering a reward of up to $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.
He is wanted for questioning in connection with the January 2008 attack on a hotel in Kabul that killed six people, including an American citizen. He is believed to have coordinated and participated in cross-border attacks against the US and coalition forces in Afghanistan.
He was also allegedly involved in the planning of the assassination attempt on Afghan President Hamid Karzai in 2008, the FBI website noted.
Citing the Taliban sources, the paper said Mullah Zabiullah Mujahid, whose name was earlier proposed for information minister, will now be the spokesperson for the new head of state.
The Taliban last week postponed the formation of a new government as the insurgent group struggles to give shape to a broad-based and inclusive administration acceptable to the international community.
The development comes days after Pakistan’s spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Lt Gen Hameed dashed to Kabul on an unannounced visit last week, amidst mounting pressure on the Taliban to form an inclusive government acceptable to the international community.
During his visit, the ISI chief had met Mullah Baradar and Hizb-e-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and discussed the current situation in Afghanistan.
According to reports, the new government in Kabul will be based on the lines of the Iranian leadership, with the group’s top religious leader Mullah Hebatullah as Afghanistan’s supreme authority.
In Iran, the supreme leader is the highest political and religious authority of the country. He ranks above the president and appoints the heads of the military, the government, and the judiciary. The supreme leader has the final say in the political, religious and military affairs of the country.