Mullah Baradar, a co-founder of the Taliban, will command a new Afghan government that would be proclaimed soon, Taliban sources said on Friday, as the Islamist organization fought rebel forces in the Panjshir Valley and fought to avoid economic collapse. Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, the son of late Taliban co-founder Mullah Omar, and Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, both in high government posts, will join Baradar, who leads the Taliban’s political office.
The Taliban’s highest religious leader, Haibatullah Akhunzada, would concentrate on religious affairs and administration within the framework of Islam. The Taliban, who took Kabul on August 15 after sweeping across the nation, has run into opposition in the Panjshir Valley, north of the city, with intense combat and deaths reported.
Thousands of militants from regional militias and government troops have gathered in the steep valley under the direction of Ahmad Massoud, the son of former Mujahideen commander Ahmad Shah Massoud. Attempts to reach an agreement appear to have failed, with each side blaming the other for the failure. For an economy suffering from drought and the scars of a conflict that has killed an estimated 240,000 Afghans, the government’s legitimacy in the eyes of foreign donors and investors will be vital.
Read also: China rushes to fill in the vacuum in Afghanistan created by US withdrawal
Many Afghans struggled to feed their families even before the Taliban gained power, and humanitarian groups warn that millions may now face famine. “We have watched the situation accelerate and amplify after August 15, with the inevitable economic catastrophe that is heading this country’s way,” Mary-Ellen McGroarty, the World Food Programme’s director in Afghanistan, stated.
President Joe Biden’s government has no plans to unfreeze billions of dollars in Afghan gold, investments, and foreign currency reserves held in the United States following the Taliban’s takeover. In a good development, a top official of Western Union Co announced that the company would resume money-transfer services to Afghanistan in response to a U.S. push to continue humanitarian efforts.
Read also: UK reaches out to Russia and China as global equations shift in Afghanistan
When the Taliban governed from 1996 to 2001, they implemented an extreme form of sharia or Islamic law. This time, though, the movement has attempted to project a more moderate image to the world, vowing to preserve human rights and desist from retaliating against former foes. The U.S., the European Union, and others have questioned such pledges, claiming that official recognition of the new administration and the flow of economic help that follows is conditional on the action.
