Familiar Faces Helm Taliban's Newly Named Cabinet

Interim PM Mullah Hasan Akhund headed Taliban government in Kabul during last years of former rule
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Sep 7, 2021 11:10 AM CDT
Taliban Names New Cabinet, and Looks Like It's All Taliban
Afghan women shout slogans and wave Afghan national flags during an anti-Pakistan demonstration, near the Pakistan Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Tuesday. A sign in Persian at right reads "Pakistan Pakistan Get Out From Afghanistan."   (AP Photo/Wali Sabawoon)

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. Interim Prime Minister Mullah Hasan Akhund headed the Taliban government in Kabul during the last years of its rule. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, who'd led talks with the United States and signed the deal that led to America's final withdrawal from Afghanistan, will be one of two deputies to Akhund, per the AP. There was no evidence of non-Taliban members in the lineup, a big demand of the international community.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, when announcing the Cabinet, said the appointments were for an interim government. He didn't elaborate on how long they'd serve and what would be the catalyst for a change. So far, the Taliban have shown no indications they'll hold elections. The announcement of Cabinet appointments by Mujahid came hours after Taliban fired into the air to disperse protesters and arrested several journalists. In one case, Taliban waving Kalashnikov rifles took a microphone from a journalist and began beating him with it, breaking the mic. The journalist was later handcuffed and detained for several hours.

The demonstrators had gathered outside the Pakistan Embassy to accuse Islamabad of aiding the Taliban's assault on northern Panjshir province. The Taliban said Monday they seized the province—the last not in their control—after their blitz through Afghanistan last month. Afghanistan's previous government routinely accused Pakistan of aiding the Taliban, a charge Islamabad has denied.

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It's 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. On Saturday, Taliban special forces troops in camouflage fired their weapons into the air to end a protest march in the capital by Afghan women demanding equal rights from the new rulers. (More Taliban stories.)

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