Who Will Head Afghanistan? Read Details Inside
The co-founder of Taliban Mullah Baradar will lead the new Afghan government which is likely to be announced soon.
Baradar, who heads the Taliban’s political office, will be assisted by Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob. Yaqoob is the son of late Taliban founder Mullah Omar, and Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, in senior positions in the government, three sources said.
“All the top leaders have arrived in Kabul, where preparations are in final stages to announce the new government,” one Taliban official told Reuters, on condition of anonymity.
The Taliban took control of Kabul on August 15 after gaining territorial superiority over most of the country. However, they are facing heavy resistance in the Panjshir Valley, north of the capital, with reports of heavy fighting and casualties.
Several thousand fighters of regional militias and remnants of the government’s armed forces have massed in the rugged valley under the leadership of Ahmad Massoud, the son of former Mujahideen commander Ahmad Shah Massoud.
Efforts to negotiate a settlement appear to have broken down, with each side blaming the other for the failure.
The government’s legitimacy in the eyes of international donors and investors is going to be crucial for an economy which is fighting drought and the ravages of a conflict. An estimated 240,000 Afghans have been killed thus far. Worth remembering is the fact that humanitarian groups have warned of a huge catastrophe in terms of economy, reliant for years on many millions of dollars of foreign aid. Now, it could look at a possible collapse.
