The Taliban has shocked the world with its Cabinet list which is packed with former Guantanamo inmates and members of UN and US-designated terror groups.
Starting at the top, interim Prime Minister Mohammad Hassan Akhund is himself under United Nations sanctions. He has been chosen at the behest of Pakistan’s ISI and has been leader of the group's Shura, or Leadership Council, for about two decades.
Two senior members of the Haqqani network, a US-designated terror group closely linked with the Taliban and al Qaeda figure in the new government. Both have been sanctioned by the UN and the US.
Sirajuddin Haqqani, the network's leader, will be the acting interior minister. Haqqani has been one of two deputy leaders of the Taliban since 2016. He figures on the FBI's "most-wanted" list and carries a $10 million bounty on his head.
Sirajuddin's uncle Khalil Haqqani, who has been appointed as acting minister for refugees, has a $5 million bounty because of his close association with al Qaeda.
As many as four men appointed to senior positions in government had previously been detained by the US at Guantanamo Bay, and had to be freed as part of a prisoner exchange to secure the release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl in 2014.
The names include Noorullah Noori appointed as acting minister of borders and tribal affairs, Abdul Haq Wasiq as acting intelligence director, Khairullah Khair who will hold the post of acting minister of information and culture and Mohammad Fazil Mazloomm, the deputy minister of defense.
A fifth detainee released in the 2014 swap , Mohammed Nabi Omari, was appointed as the new governor of the southeastern province of Khost last month.
The selection of the Cabinet will definitely weigh on the minds of foreign governments at a time when the Taliban needs recognition and is desperately seeking aid from the UN and other countries to tackle the grave humanitarian crisis.
The US State Department a spokesperson said that Washington is currently "assessing" the announcement of an interim government.
"We are concerned by the affiliations and track records of some of the individuals," the spokesperson also said.
Also read: Pakistan’s ISI strings a new Taliban-led government in Afghanistan
