A reading of the cabinet line-up announced by the Taliban

Keppl-

after 3 weeks of control of

the Afghan capital Kabul, the

Taliban announced this

evening its government ,

which includes a

list of 33 people, in

which the

names of the

prime minister and his deputies, ministers and heads of

some independent departments.

The brief statement issued by the Taliban movement - and read by the movement's official spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid - said, "The Islamic Emirate has decided to appoint a caretaker government."

The statement did not mention anything about the duration of the work of the announced government, nor did it indicate the date of the announcement of the permanent government.

In their conversations, after the fall of the former regime and the movement's control over all Afghan lands, Taliban officials asserted that the government they wanted to form would be inclusive and representative of all segments of the Afghan people.

Contrary to these internal and external assurances and expectations, the ministerial formation announced by the Taliban does not include any figure from outside the movement, but rather all its members from within it.

Taliban leadership

The most important leading figures in the movement hold important positions in the announced cabinet;

Mullah Muhammad Hassan Akhund will take over the position of prime minister, and Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and Mawlawi Abdul Salam Hanafi will be deputy prime ministers.

While Mawlawi Muhammad Yaqoub - son of Mullah Muhammad Omar, founder and first leader of the movement - took over the Ministry of Defense, Mullah Sirajuddin Haqqani - son of Mawlawi Jalaluddin Haqqani - took over the Ministry of Interior, and Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaki will occupy the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Although the expectations were that Mullah Baradar would be appointed prime minister, Mullah Muhammad Hassan's name emerged in recent days, and he was appointed prime minister.

And Mullah Muhammad Hassan had previously held the position of foreign minister and prime minister in the previous government of the Taliban movement 20 years ago.

It is striking in the new lineup that Mawlawi Amirkhan Muttaki - one of the media figures in the Taliban movement's leadership - was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, and he was Minister of Information in the first Taliban government.

It appears that the Taliban government includes most of the movement's political and military leaders;

In the political field, Mullah Baradar, Mawlawi Amir Khan Mottaki, Mawlawi Abdul Salam Hanafi and Sher Abbas Estanekzi, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.

In the military field, the most prominent of them are Mawlawi Muhammad Yaqoub, Minister of Defense, Mullah Sirajuddin Haqqani, Minister of Interior, and Mawlawi Fasih al-Din, Chief of the Army Staff.

Ethnic Pashtun

One of the features of the announced cabinet lineup is that the vast majority of its members are ethnic Pashtuns.

For example, the Mawlawi Prime Minister Muhammad Hassan, his deputy, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the ministers of defense, interior, foreign affairs, media, electricity, water, higher education, immigrant affairs, the head of the intelligence service, and the head of the Central Bank are all Pashtuns.

It is also striking that all the announced names, with the exception of Sher Muhammad Estanekzi, are studying Sharia sciences in traditional religious schools and institutes;

Some of them bear the title of mullah, and some of them bear the title of Mawlawi, and there is no one in the new government from other scientific disciplines.

Moreover, the ministerial lineup lacks academic degrees such as doctorate and master’s degrees in legal disciplines from modern Islamic universities, such as Al-Azhar and others.

It appears that the new government does not include any member of the Turkmen, Hazara, Arab and Baluch ethnicities, nor does it include any member of the Shiite sect.

The Taliban added a new ministry in the government, which it named the "Ministry of Call, Guidance, Enjoining Virtue and Forbidding Evil", and its portfolio was filled by an unpopular person named Sheikh Muhammad Khalid.

Geographical distribution

In terms of geographical distribution;

The southern regions, such as the provinces of Kandahar and Helmand, have the lion's share in the new cabinet line-up and its important positions;

For example, Mawlawi Muhammad Hassan, the Prime Minister, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Deputy Prime Minister, and Mawlawi Muhammad Yaqoub, Minister of Defense from Kandahar Province.

The states of Khost and Paktia come in second place;

Important figures in the government such as Mullah Sirajuddin Haqqani, Minister of Interior, and his uncle Haji Khalil Rahman Haqqani, Minister of Migrant Affairs, and Mullah Abdul Latif Mansour, Minister of Electricity and Water from the states of Paktia and Khost.

The new government does not include a women's ministry, as was the case in governments after the US invasion of Afghanistan during the past twenty years, and the government does not include any person who held positions in previous governments.

It is striking that the Taliban movement did not announce a higher authority that would be above the government, nor did it announce the formation of a council or body that would assist and advise the government.

Also, the absence of significant and experienced leadership figures in the leadership of the Taliban movement, such as Mawlawi Shahabuddin Dawar, the former ambassador to the Taliban government in Pakistan and then Saudi Arabia, and Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, the former Afghan ambassador to Pakistan, is also striking.

The names of the chief justice and the attorney general were not announced in the new line-up.

Observers believe that the announced cabinet does not live up to expectations and ambitions at home, and may not be welcomed abroad, and it is difficult to be able to face the challenges and crises facing Afghanistan in the current circumstances.