Kabul: After more than 15 days of capturing the capital city of Kabul, the Taliban will likely make an announcement over the government formation in Afghanistan on Friday. The announcement will likely be made after the Friday prayers, reported news agency AFP quoting Taliban sources.
This comes a day after the Islamists confirmed that Hibatullah Akhundzada, the top Afghan religious leader who is known as ‘Amir al-Mu’minin’, will be the supreme leader of the country. “Akhundzada will be the leader of the government and there should be no question on this,” said a top Taliban leader.
Here are the 7 big points from the high profile story:
1. The new Afghan government, the Taliban has said, will be based on the Iranian model where the supreme leader will be above everything. A Prime Minister or President will be appointed by Taliban, but he will have to work under the supervision of the supreme leader.
2. The Taliban, as per media reports, has also appointed police chiefs and governors for provinces. However, an official announcement is awaited from Taliban regarding this.
3. According to a report by TOLOnews, women will also be given some role in the new Afghan government. However, Taliban has said that women won’t “be appointed in higher ranking positions despite”. “Women are key elements of society,” TOLOnews quoted Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid as saying. “They can continue their work within the framework of Islam”.
4. Another Taliban official Inamullah Samangani, who is also a member of the group’s cultural commission, has said that women can take part in the new government if they have “leadership capabilities”. “Women can return to their jobs while considering Islamic Sharia (laws),” TOLOnews quoted Samangani as saying.
5. However, Afghan women are reportedly not satisfied with Taliban and want “a role in society same as men”. A former Afghan women official has also claimed that the Islamists have not “expressed a unified stance” on their rights in the new government. “The Taliban should form a government in which all ethnic and religious groups and women are represented,” TOLOnews quoted Shukria Barekzai, a former Afghan ambassador, as saying.
6. Meanwhile, India has said that there is no update from Taliban over the government formation in Afghanistan and it is prioritising the evacuation of its nationals from the war-ravaged country. “Our focus is not that (whether Taliban is a terror group or not), our focus is on Afghanistan not being used for terror,” said Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi in a press briefing.
7. Indian envoy to Qatar Deepak Mittal had met the Taliban leadership, including Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, in Doha on Tuesday and had discussed the safety, security, and early return of Indian nationals stranded in Afghanistan. Mittal in his meeting had also raised New Delhi’s concern that Afghanistan’s soil should not be used for anti-Indian activities and terrorism in any manner.
Bureau Report
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