Akhund will be interim PM, Baradar to be deputy: Taliban

The Taliban on Tuesday announced a caretaker Cabinet that paid homage to the old guard of the group, giving top posts to Taliban personalities who dominated the 20-year battle against the US-led coalition and its Afghan government allies.

Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, the little-known head of the Taliban’s leadership council, was named as acting prime minister, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed said at a press conference in Kabul on Tuesday. 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, will serve as his deputy.

Sirajuddin Haqqani, leader of the Haqqani Network who is on the FBI’s most wanted list for terrorism, will serve as acting interior minister. That may complicate any moves by the US to cooperate with the Taliban, particularly as President Joe Biden urges the Taliban to cut all ties with terrorist groups. Besides, Mullah Yaqoob, a deputy Taliban leader since 2016, will take charge as caretaker defence minister.

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