Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund will lead the new Taliban government in Afghanistan and the group co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar will be one of the two deputies, AFP reports.
The Taliban announced the first members of their new Afghanistan government after delaying it twice.
Mullah Hasan Akhund headed the last Taliban government in the final years of its rule that ended after the US-led invasion.
Abdul Ghani Baradar, head of the Taliban’s political office in Doha, had led talks with the US which resulted in signing a deal between them and eventually America’s final withdrawal from Afghanistan.
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The Taliban spokesperson said that Amir Khan Muttaqi will be Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister while Mullah Yaqoob, son of Taliban’s founder Mullah Omar, will serve as the acting defence minister.
The government formation was twice postponed as the insurgents were reportedly struggling to shape an inclusive administration acceptable to the international community. The first names of the interim government, however, didn’t include any non-Taliban stakeholders, a major demand from the international community.
Some reports suggest that Pakistan’s alleged interference in the government formation also caused the delay.
“It was agreed that we would announce a new government before a formal ceremony could be held,” AFP quoted Ahmadullah Wasiq, deputy head of the Taliban’s Cultural Commission, as saying.
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