Taliban name Kabul governor, mayor as part of new regime: Report
The Islamist insurgents announced appointments in seven roles, including Mullah Shirin as Kabul governor, Hamdullah Nomai as the capital’s Mayor and Najibullah as Afghanistan’s intelligence chief, among others.
A day after appointing the acting head of Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB) – Afghan central bank — the Islamist militant group Taliban have announced the names of its officials who will be handling various governmental departments, including the roles of Kabul’s governor and mayor, Afghanistan news agency Pajhwok Afghan News reported.
What are new appointments?
1. Sakhaullah have been appointed as the acting head of education.
2. Abdul Baqi will be the acting head of higher education.
3. Sadr Ibrahim has been named the acting interior minister.
4. Gul Agha has been appointed as the finance minister.
5. Mullah Shirin will be the new Kabul governor.
6. Hamdullah Nomani has been appointed as Kabul mayor.
7. Najibullah has been appointed as Afghanistan’s intelligence chief.
On Monday, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid took to Twitter to announce the appointment of Haji Mohammad Idris as the acting head of DAB. In the post, Mujahid said that Idris will be addressing the “looming banking issues and the problems of the people,” according to the translation by Bloomberg.
Also Read | US blocks Taliban access to $9.5 billion Afghan monetary reserves
{{/usCountry}}Also Read | US blocks Taliban access to $9.5 billion Afghan monetary reserves
{{/usCountry}}Idris’ appointment came at a time when Afghanistan is in deep economic turmoil with ATMs reportedly running out of cash, Afghani currency hitting a massive low and prices of essential items such as oil and flour spiralling by as high as 35%, Bloomberg reported.
{{/usCountry}}Idris’ appointment came at a time when Afghanistan is in deep economic turmoil with ATMs reportedly running out of cash, Afghani currency hitting a massive low and prices of essential items such as oil and flour spiralling by as high as 35%, Bloomberg reported.
{{/usCountry}}Moreover, these appointments come as the deadline for the US troops to withdraw from Afghanistan nears its end, even as thousands of foreign nationals and desperate Afghans await their turn to be flown out of the country and the Taliban’s rule. The insurgents have already cautioned against extending the August 31 deadline, with spokesperson Suhail Shaheen saying that the act would “provoke a reaction” from the group and that there would be “consequences.”
{{/usCountry}}Moreover, these appointments come as the deadline for the US troops to withdraw from Afghanistan nears its end, even as thousands of foreign nationals and desperate Afghans await their turn to be flown out of the country and the Taliban’s rule. The insurgents have already cautioned against extending the August 31 deadline, with spokesperson Suhail Shaheen saying that the act would “provoke a reaction” from the group and that there would be “consequences.”
{{/usCountry}}Speaking with Sky News in Qatar’s capital Dohan, Shaheen said that the extension is a “red line” and delaying the withdrawal of forces would mean “[US] is extending occupation while there is no need for that.”
However, the US President, who is set to meet the G7 leaders today to discuss the mounting signs of worry related to the evacuation from Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport, is mulling over extending the withdrawal deadline. On Sunday, he warned that the evacuation is going to be “hard and painful” and much could still go wrong, according to Reuters.
Meanwhile, an official from the Biden Administration told Reuters on Monday that the President can decide within the next 24 hours whether the US is going to extend the deadline to allow the Pentagon to have time to prepare.
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Notably, the G7 meeting will be taking place between Biden, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, France President Emmanuel Macron and Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi.
On Monday, US Army General Hank Taylor told reporters that nearly 16,000 people were evacuated from Kabul airport over the previous 24 hours with American military aircraft flying out 11,000 during the same period of time. He added that as many as 42,000 people have been evacuated from the war-torn Afghanistan since July, of which 37,000 were airlifted since August 14 as the Taliban took over the country after two decades.
These evacuees, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said, include “several thousand” US nationals, Afghans who worked with US forces and applied or received Special Immigrant Visas (SIV), other at-risk Afghan nationals who worked in non-governmental agencies, and media, among others.
