Afghanistan's UN rep slams Taliban's new govt: '17 of 33 ministers sanctioned by UN'

Fuming at the new all-male Taliban government, Afghanistan's permanent representative to UN Ghulam M. Isaczai on Wednesday, said that 17 of the 33 cabinet members are in the UN sanction list. Listing the members -  Mullah Muhammad Hasan Akhund (PM), Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Molavi Abdul Salam Hanafi (2 Deputy PMs), Muhammad Yaqoobb Mujahid (Defense minister), Siraj udin Haqqan (Interior minister) and Amir khan Muttaqi (Foreign Affairs Minister) - Isaczai pointed out that all of these Taliban members were on UN's sanctioned list.  The new Afghan cabinet will be headed by Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund while  Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar will be his deputy, the group's spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said.

Afghan UN rep busts new Taliban govt

As per the list of cabinet ministers, Mullah Muhammad Hasan Akhund is an UN-sanctioned terrorist while his deputy Sirajuddin Haqqani is a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. Meanwhile, other terrorists who were detained to Guantanamo prison after 9/11 like Mullah Khairullah Khairkhah, Mullah Noorullah Noori, Mohammad Fazl, and Abdul Haq Wasiq have been included in the cabinet. This new government is declared as an interim one and the National Resistance Front (NRF) fighting the Taliban in Panjshir has already denounced it.

Taliban announces new govt

On Tuesday, Taliban announced the government of the 'Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan', naming Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund, the head of the Taliban's powerful decision-making body 'Rehbari Shura' as its interim Prime Minister. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said, " we are trying to include people from all parts of the country in the government", as internal rifts between the three Taliban factions came to the forefront. With ISI Chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed in Kabul, Mujahid denied any involvement of  Pakistan in finalising the new government saying, "We won't allow that to happen (involvement). We fought for our country and Islam for the past 20 years". Meanwhile, Taliban's secretive supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, who has never been seen in public, issued a statement announcing that the newly appointed government will uphold Sharia Law.

The Taliban took over Kabul on August 15 after major cities like Kandahar, Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif, Jalalabad and Lashkar Gah fell without resistance as US troops retreat after 20 years from war-torn Afghanistan. The hasty withdrawal of the US troops saw thousands of people attempting to flee from Afghanistan with several clinging to a departing US plane's wheels, leading to them falling to their deaths. After a bloody fight with the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRFA),  Taliban claimed capture of the last province in Afghanistan - Panjshir, taking over the governor's office. NRFA led by 'caretaker' President Amrullah Saleh and Ahmad Massoud has refuted these allegations saying, "NRF forces are present in all strategic positions across the valley to continue the fight".