A month after the Taliban conquered Kabul and declared the restoration of their
Islamic Emirate, a new administration in Afghanistan has taken shape.


<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
U.N.-Sanctioned Taliban Stalwarts At The Helm Of New Afghan Government  

 

(New York, N.Y.) – A month after the Taliban conquered Kabul and declared the
restoration of their Islamic Emirate, a new administration in Afghanistan has
taken shape. Senior positions have been handed to numerousinternationally
designated figures
<[link removed]>
, including members of the U.N. Security Council’s (UNSC) terrorism blacklist
and leaders of the U.S.-designated terror group, the Haqqani Network. As
governments and international organizationsconsider
<[link removed]>
the terms and conditions of engagement with the Taliban, more details about
the makeup of the new 33-member cabinet in Afghanistan have come to light.

 

Among the 19 designated members of the interim government are Minister of
FinanceGul Agha Ishakzai
<[link removed]>
, Minister of Hajj and Religious AffairsNoor Mohammed Saqib
<[link removed]>, Minister of
CommunicationsNajibullah Haqqani
<[link removed]>,
Foreign MinisterAmir Khan Motaqi
<[link removed]>, and Minister of
Aviation and TransportationHameedullah Akhundzada
<[link removed]>
.

 

Gul Agha Ishakzai
<[link removed]>
, a close childhood friend and advisor to Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar,
will serve as finance minister. Gul Agha reportedly facilitated the movement of
people and goods to Taliban training camps in December 2005, and later traveled
to obtain weapon parts in late 2006. Among his more nefarious responsibilities
included collecting money for suicide attacks in Kandahar, Afghanistan and
distributing funds to Taliban fighters and their families.

 

Noor Mohammad Saqib
<[link removed]>, the new
minister of hajj and religious affairs, served as chief justice of the Supreme
Court under the first Taliban regime and is the also the former head of the
Supreme Council’s Religious Committee. During Saqib’s time as chief justice,
Saqib presided over the 2001 trial of eight foreign aid workers—four Germans,
two Australians, and two Americans—accused of promoting Christianity in
Afghanistan. If found guilty, the defendants would have faced the death
penalty. However, following the 9/11 attacks and the U.S. occupation of
Afghanistan, on November 14, 2001, U.S. military officials rescued the eight
aid workers and transported them to Pakistan.

 

Najibullah Haqqani Hidayatullah
<[link removed]>,
the deputy minister of finance under first Taliban regime, will serve as
communications minister. In 2007, Haqqani served as a member of the Taliban
Council in Kunar Province and in June 2008, he was appointed the primary
Taliban official responsible for military activity in Kunar. By late 2010,
Haqqani was reported to be the Taliban member responsible for Laghman province.

 

Other Taliban veterans appointed to cabinet positions are Foreign Minister
Amir Khan Motaqi <[link removed]>
, who previously served as education minister and as a representative in
U.N-led talks under the first Taliban regime, and Minister of Aviation and
TransportationHameedullah Akhundzada
<[link removed]>
, the former head of Ariana Afghan Airlines.

 

To read CEP’s resource Gul Agha Ishakzai, please click here
<[link removed]>
. 

 

To read CEP’s resource Noor Mohammad Saqib, please click here
<[link removed]>.

 

To read CEP’s resource Najibullah Haqqani Hidayatullah, please click here
<[link removed]>.

 

To read CEP’s resource Amir Khan Motaqi, please click here
<[link removed]>. 

 

To read CEP’s resource Hamidullah Akhund Sher Mohammad a.k.a. Hameedullah
Akhundzada, please click here
<[link removed]>
.

 

###

Unsubscribe
<[link removed]>