The Taliban formed its first caretaker government in Afghanistan since it swept to power last month, featuring several members that have been sanctioned by the UN for terrorism and an interior minister on the FBI’s most wanted list.
Mohammad Hassan Akhund, a close adviser to the late Taliban founder Mohammed Omar, will be acting prime minister, said Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid. Political chief Abdul Ghani Baradar, who led the group’s negotiations with the US, has been made deputy.
Mohammad Yaqoob, Taliban founder Omar’s son, has been appointed acting defence minister. Sirajuddin Haqqani, a senior leader of the Haqqani network who is wanted by the FBI for “cross-border attacks against the United States” and has a $5m bounty on his head, will be interior minister.