Mullah Baradar likely to head new government in Afghanistan

The co-founder of Taliban, Mullah Baradar, is likely to be the head of the new government in Afghanistan, Reuters said quoting three different sources in the militant organisation.

Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, the son of late Taliban founder Mullah Omar, and Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, who held parleys with India in Qatar recently, will be accorded senior positions in the government.

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The new cabinet is likely to be announced after Friday morning prayers, news agency AFP reported. “All the top leaders have arrived in Kabul, where preparations are in final stages to announce the new government,” a Taliban leader told Reuters.

Haibatullah Akhundzada, third supreme leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is expected to head the new governing council, which will be above the government. The Taliban will also announce a President, who will be under the authority of Akhundzada.

The Taliban leadership has a tough task at hand. Firstly, it has to handle and control the spiralling human rights crisis prevailing in the country since US declared its exit from Afghanistan in April. Secondly, the country is staring at a deep economic depression since all major lenders, including the US, have stopped funding the country.

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The Taliban reached Kabul on August 15 with a promise of taking full charge of the country at the earliest. However, its success has met with resistance in the Panjshir Valley, where the Northern Alliance has been fighting the militants tooth and nail.