Taliban Announces Afghan Government Officials: Some Are Sanctioned By UN To Enter FBI Wanted List

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid (Twitter/@GMICafghanistan)

JAKARTA - The Taliban officially announced the new structure of the Afghan government. Mullah Hassan Akhund, who is a co-founder of the group Mullah Omar, was appointed head of the government with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar who is the head of the Taliban's political office as his deputy.

"All those mentioned are holding their positions in an 'acting' capacity," said Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid in a press statement, citing Reuters on September 8.

He added that several ministries still had to be filled while waiting for the hunt for qualified people.

A number of figures who are included in the list of Afghan government officials are in the spotlight. Mohammad Hassan Akhund, the senior Taliban leader appointed Afghanistan's acting prime minister, is a former cabinet minister with experience with the ear of the movement's spiritual chief, according to Taliban sources and analysts.

Akhund is the longtime head of the Taliban's powerful decision-making body, the Rehbari Shura, or leadership council. Analysts see Akhund as a political figure, with his control of the leadership council also giving him a voice in military affairs.

When the Taliban last ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, he served first as foreign minister and then as deputy prime minister. Like many forthcoming cabinets, he is under UN sanctions for his role in that government.

Afghan Prime Minister Mullah Hassan Akhund. (Twitter/@Ahmadmuttaqi01)

Akhund does not appear to be a religious scholar with the position of spiritual leader of Haibatullah Akhundzada, according to Asfandyar Mir, an analyst at the United States Institute of Peace, who has closely studied the Taliban leadership.

"He seems to be more of a political person. His main claim to power is that he had a very senior role before 9/11," he explained.

Like many in the Taliban leadership, Akhund gained a lot of prestige from his advanced years and his close relationship with the late founder of the Taliban, Mullah Omar.

Akhund is believed to be at least in his mid-60s and possibly older. The EU sanctions notice puts him at 76 years old.

"He is very old, he is the oldest person in the ranks of the Taliban," said a Taliban source.

Meanwhile, a UN sanctions report described him as a close associate and political adviser to the late Mullah Omar, as well as one of the Taliban's most effective commanders.

Akhund is also respected throughout the organization and is very close to Akhundzada, a Taliban source said.

"People respect him a lot, especially Amir al-Mu'minin (Amirul Mu'minin)," said the source, using the honorary title Akhundzada.

Another figure that has attracted attention is Sirajuddin Haqqani. The new interior minister is the son of the founder of the Haqqani network, which Washington classifies as a terrorist group. He is one of the FBI's most wanted people because of his involvement in the suicide attacks and his links to Al Qaeda.

Next was Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the head of the political office to whom Mullah Omar assigned the nom de guerre "brother," or Baradar, as deputy prime minister.

Baradar's return to the highest government post came as a surprise to some, as he was responsible for negotiating a US withdrawal from talks in Qatar and exposing the face of the Taliban to the outside world.

Baradar was previously a senior Taliban commander in the long insurgency against US forces. He was arrested and imprisoned in Pakistan in 2010, becoming the head of the Taliban's political office in Doha after his release in 2018.

Separately, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters on Air Force One, as President Joe Biden flew to New York, that there would be no immediate recognition of the Taliban government.