Afghanistan: Taliban adds 27 new members in interim cabinet, women shunned again

In a key development in Afghanistan, the Taliban caretaker government has expanded their cabinet by including 27 new members. Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson for the interim government stated that the new members have been appointed according to the orders given by the Taliban’s supreme leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, reported ANI citing Pajhwok Afghan News. The Taliban caretaker government has named over two dozen high-level officials, which included ministers and deputy ministers.

Notably, the new list of ministers also did not include a woman in the cabinet. Maulvi Shahabuddin Delawar has been appointed as Acting Minister of Mines and Petroleum and Mullah Mohammad Abbas Akhund has been named Acting Minister of Disaster Management. As per the list released by the Taliban government, other new members have been appointed as deputy ministers, corps commanders and heads of independent departments, ANI reported citing Pajhwok Afghan News.

The new ministers included in the Taliban interim government are: 

• Maulvi Shahabuddin Delavar - Acting Minister of Mines and Petroleum
• Haji Mullah Mohammad Esa Akhund - Deputy Minister of Mines and Petroleum
• Mullah Mohammad Abbas Akhund - Acting Minister of Disaster Management 
• Maulvi Sharafuddin - Deputy Minister of Disaster Management
• Maulvi Enayatullah -  Deputy Minister of Disaster Management
• Maulvi Ahmad Taha - Deputy Minister of Border and Tribal Affairs
• Sheikh Maulvi Abdul Hakim - Deputy Minister of Martyr and Disabled Affairs
• Maulvi Saeed Ahmad Shahidkhel - Deputy Minister of Education
• Maulvi Abdul Rahman Halim - Deputy Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development
• Maulvi Atiqullah Azizi - Deputy Minister of Finance and Administration at the Ministry of Information and Culture
• Maulvi Saifuddin Tayeb - Deputy Minister of Communications
• Mullah Nasser Akhund - Deputy Minister of Finance
• Maulvi Arefullah Aref - Deputy Minister of Energy and Water
• Mullah Faizullah Akhund- Deputy Minister of Youth Affairs at the Ministry of Information and Culture

Here is the list of officials named by the Taliban caretaker government:

• Maulvi Hamdullah Zahed - Procurement Director
• Sheikh Abdul Rahim - Deputy Director of Procurement
• Maulvi Qudratullah Jamal - Supreme Audit Office Head
• Maulvi Ezatullah - Deputy Chief of the Supreme Audit Office
• Maulvi Mohammad Yousef Mastari - Acting Director of Prisons
• Mullah Habibullah Fazli - Deputy Director of Prisons
• Maulvi Keramatullah Akhundzadah - Head of the Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission
• Maulvi Gul Zarin - Head of Kochi Affairs at the Ministry of Border and Tribal Affairs 
• Maulvi Fathullah Mansour - Head of Kandahar Airport
• Mohammad Ismail - Executive Commander of the Military Court
• Maulvi Esmatullah Asim - Deputy Head of the Red Cross
• Maulvi Rahimullah Mahmoud - Deputy Commander of the Al-Badar Corps in Kandahar 
• Maulvi Abdul Samad - Deputy Commander of Azam Corps in Helmand

On August 15 this year, the Taliban took over Afghanistan as they captured the country's capital, Kabul. On August 31, the Taliban gained control of the Kabul airport after the US troops left the war-ravaged nation. Even though the Taliban had promised to form an "inclusive" government to run Afghanistan, it announced a 33-member caretaker Cabinet which neither had women nor mainstream politicians from the previous government. Later in September, the Taliban caretaker government had expanded the cabinet by including more ministers in the cabinet. However, the woman again did not find a place in the cabinet. 

Inputs from ANI

Image: ANI