The Taliban announced a hardline new caretaker government for Afghanistan on Tuesday, with veteran Taliban member Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund as interim prime minister and Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a co-founder of the group, as his deputy. Mullah Yaqoob, one of the deputy leaders of the Taliban since 2016, will act as caretaker defense minister. Sirajuddin Haqqani, head of the Haqqani network, a US-designated terror group aligned with the Taliban and Al Qaida, has been appointed acting interior minister. Haqqani has a $5 million US bounty on his head. The announcement of key figures in the caretaker government comes weeks after the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan, and presents the first picture of how their leadership of the country will begin to take shape. The new Cabinet has also been announced with the top posts being awarded to Taliban personalities who dominated the 20-year battle against the US-led coalition and its Afghan government allies. Hasan Akhund served as foreign minister and deputy prime minister during the Taliban's previous administrations from 1996 to 2001. Abdul Ghani Baradar will be the new executive's No. 2. Amir Khan Muttaqi, a Taliban negotiator in Doha, was appointed head of the Foreign Ministry. There was no evidence of non-Taliban in the lineup, a big demand of the international community. Ahmadullah Wasiq, an official of the Taliban cultural commission, said on Twitter that ceremonies will be held "in the future" to swear in the new government. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, when announcing the Cabinet, said the appointments were for an interim government. He did not elaborate on how long they would serve and what would be the catalyst for a change. So far, the Taliban have shown no indications that they will hold elections. The announcement of Cabinet appointments by Mujahid came hours after the Taliban fired into the air to disperse protesters and arrested several journalists, the second time in less than a week the group used heavy-handed tactics to break up a demonstration in the Afghan capital of Kabul. — Agencies
