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KABUL: Taliban are preparing to set out their new Islamic government imminently, naming Haibatullah Akhundzada, the insurgency’s top religious leader, as the country’s supreme authority, according to Taliban sources.
According to interviews with Taliban and other sources in Kabul and Kandahar, Akhundzada would be the supreme authority of the new Islamic government. Akhundzada, who has been meeting with leadership in Kandahar, has been referred to as either “za’eem” or “rahbar” in official discourse, both meaning “leader,” a theocratic title similar to that of the Iranian head of state, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a co-founder of the Taliban who has served as the group’s deputy leader in recent years, was expected to be in charge of day-to-day affairs as head of government.
Baradar acted as the chief negotiator for the group in peace talks with the US in Qatar, presiding over the deal that cleared the way for the US withdrawal. Other key government positions are expected to go to Sirajuddin Haqqani, another deputy and an influential operations leader within the movement, and Mawlawi Mohammad Yaqoob, who is the son of the Taliban movement’s founder, Mullah Mohammad Omar. Still unclear was the role of a leadership shura or council and whether its membership would fulfill the Taliban’s promise of building an inclusive government. Other Taliban leaders expected to receive cabinet posts included Sadar Ibrahim, who has functioned as de facto interior minister since the Taliban’s takeover.
According to interviews with Taliban and other sources in Kabul and Kandahar, Akhundzada would be the supreme authority of the new Islamic government. Akhundzada, who has been meeting with leadership in Kandahar, has been referred to as either “za’eem” or “rahbar” in official discourse, both meaning “leader,” a theocratic title similar to that of the Iranian head of state, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a co-founder of the Taliban who has served as the group’s deputy leader in recent years, was expected to be in charge of day-to-day affairs as head of government.
Baradar acted as the chief negotiator for the group in peace talks with the US in Qatar, presiding over the deal that cleared the way for the US withdrawal. Other key government positions are expected to go to Sirajuddin Haqqani, another deputy and an influential operations leader within the movement, and Mawlawi Mohammad Yaqoob, who is the son of the Taliban movement’s founder, Mullah Mohammad Omar. Still unclear was the role of a leadership shura or council and whether its membership would fulfill the Taliban’s promise of building an inclusive government. Other Taliban leaders expected to receive cabinet posts included Sadar Ibrahim, who has functioned as de facto interior minister since the Taliban’s takeover.
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