Taliban’s New Cabinet: A Victory for Old Guard Hardliners
KABUL — The names read like a roll call from the 1990s. Mullah Hassan Akhund. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.
Sirajuddin Haqqani. When the Taliban finally unveiled their interim government on September 7, nearly three weeks after taking Kabul, they sent a clear message: this is not a new Taliban.
It is the old one, back in power. Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid made the announcement at the Government Media Center. The cabinet is entirely male, entirely senior Taliban figures.
Many carry United Nations sanctions. None represent the ethnic or political diversity of Afghanistan.
The list contains no women. Mullah Hassan Akhund will lead the government as head of state. He was one of the closest associates of Taliban founder Mullah Omar.
He previously ran the Taliban’s ruling Shura. He was among four founders of the Tehreek-e-Taliban movement. This is a man from the inner circle of the original regime.
Baradar, the co-founder who led the political office in Qatar, gets the deputy role. He was the face of diplomacy.
Now he is number two to a hardliner. That tells you where diplomacy ranks. The defense ministry goes to Maulvi Mohammad Yaqub.
He is Mullah Omar’s son. The interior ministry goes to Sirajuddin Haqqani.
His network is designated a terrorist group by the United States. The FBI has a $5 million bounty on his head. He is now Afghanistan’s interior minister.
Mujahid himself becomes Deputy Minister of Information. Qari Fasih Badakhshani, who led the conquest of the northern provinces and the fall of Panjshir, is named Army Chief. The last pocket of resistance fell under his command.
Foreign Minister is Maulvi Amir Khan Muttaqi. Finance Minister is Mullah Hidayat Badri.
Information Minister is Mullah Khairullah Khairkhwa. The economy goes to Qari Din Mohammad. The Hajj and Endowment Ministry goes to Maulvi Noor Mohammad Saqib.
Every single appointment draws from the same pool: Taliban veterans, many wanted by international bodies, none with experience running a modern state. “The country needs to work in every sector,” Mujahid said.
“The Islamic Emirate had decided to announce a caretaker cabinet to work in the necessary sectors.” Caretaker is the key word. This is an interim arrangement. But interim for how long?
The Taliban have not set a timeline. They have not promised elections. They have not explained how a sanctions-laden cabinet will access frozen central bank reserves or negotiate with foreign governments.
The structure signals continuity with the 1996-2001 regime. That regime was isolated, impoverished, and internationally unrecognized.
It hosted al-Qaeda. It fell after the 9/11 attacks. Now the same faces are back.
The Haqqani network, which the U.S. fought for two decades, controls internal security. Mullah Omar’s son controls the military.
The founder’s inner circle controls the political leadership. There is no room for the technocrats, the former government officials, the ethnic minority leaders who some hoped would be included. There is no mention of a prime minister.
There is no mention of a parliament. The international community faces a stark choice. Engage with a cabinet full of sanctioned men.
Or isolate Afghanistan again. Either path carries risks.
For ordinary Afghans, the announcement changes little. The Taliban already ran most of the country before August 15. They already imposed their interpretation of Islamic law.
What changes is the pretense. The interim government makes official what was already true: the Islamic Emirate is back, staffed by the same men who ran it before.
Mujahid promised the cabinet would work in necessary sectors. He did not say how. He did not say when.
He did not say what would happen to the schools, the hospitals, the media, the women who had gained rights over twenty years. The list of names is complete. The questions are not.
