Three weeks since taking control of Kabul, the Taliban have announced a new government in Afghanistan led by Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund. The declaration was made by Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid during a press conference in Kabul on Tuesday.

Head of the Taliban’s leadership council, also known as the Rehbari Shura, Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund will act as the head of the Taliban government in Afghanistan. A Pakistani media report suggests that Taliban’s top leader Mullah Hebatullah Akhundzada himself nominated Mullah Akhund for the post.

Addressing reporters at the Government Information Media Centre (GIMC) in Kabul, Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said this is an “acting (caretaker) government” and not a “permanent government”. He added that each minister in the Taliban government would be assisted by two deputies.

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Mujahid also announced that chairman of the Taliban’s political office in Doha, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, will serve as a deputy to Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund, along with Maulavi Hanafi.

Ministers in new Taliban government:

• Amir Khan Muttaqi – Taliban Foreign Minister (Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai – Deputy Foreign Minister)
• Siraj Haqqani – Taliban Interior Minister
• Mullah Yaqoob – Taliban Defence Minister
• Abdul Hakim Sharie – Taliban Minister of Justice
• Khairullah Khairkhwa – Taliban Minister of Information (Zabiullah Mujahid – Deputy Minister of Information)
• Hedayatullah Badri – Taliban Finance Minister
• Qari Din Hanif – Taliban Minister of Economy
• Sheikh Mawlawi Noorullah – Taliban Education Minister
• Noor Mohammad Saqib – Taliban Minister for Hajj and Religious Affairs
• Noorullah Noori – Taliban Minister of Borders and Tribal Affairs
• Mohammad Younus Akhundzada – Taliban Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development
• Abdul Manan Omari – Taliban Minister of Public Works
• Mohammad Esa Akhund – Taliban Minister of Mines and Petroleum