Taliban co-founder Mullah Baradar will lead a new Afghan government that could be announced soon, according to Taliban sources on Friday, as the Islamist group battled rebel fighters while attempting to avert economic collapse.
According to three sources, Baradar, who heads the Taliban’s political office, will be joined in senior positions in the government by Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, the son of late Taliban founder Mullah Omar, and Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai.”All of the top leaders have arrived in Kabul, where preparations for the announcement of the new government are nearing completion,” a Taliban official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
The Taliban, who seized Kabul on August 15 after sweeping across the majority of the country, have encountered resistance in the Panjshir Valley, north of the capital, with reports of heavy fighting and casualties.
CATASTROPHE OF HUMANITY
The legitimacy of the government in the eyes of international donors and investors will be critical for an economy dealing with drought and the aftereffects of a conflict that has killed an estimated 240,000 Afghans.
Humanitarian organisations have warned of impending disaster, and the economy, which has relied on millions of dollars in foreign aid for years, is on the verge of collapsing.
Many Afghans were struggling to feed their families long before the Taliban took power, and millions may now face starvation, according to aid agencies.
RECOGNITION
When it ruled from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban imposed a strict interpretation of Sharia, or Islamic law.
However, this time around, the movement has attempted to present a more moderate face to the world, promising to protect human rights and refrain from retaliation against old adversaries.
The United States, the European Union, and others have questioned such assurances, claiming that formal recognition of the new government, as well as the subsequent flow of economic aid, was conditional on action.
The Taliban has promised safe passage out of the country to any foreigners or Afghans who were left behind by the massive airlift that ended when US troops withdrew ahead of an August 31 deadline. However, with Kabul’s airport still closed, many people were attempting to flee by land.
