Afghanistan's Taliban have appointed senior veterans to the posts of finance minister and defense minister, two members of the group said, as it switches focus from a stunning military conquest to how to run a country in crisis, according to Reuters.
The Taliban have not formally announced the appointments, which a commander said were provisional, but Afghanistan’s Pajhwok news agency said on August 24 that Gul Agha had been named as finance minister and Sadr Ibrahim acting interior minister.
Former Guantanamo detainee Mullah Abdul Qayyum Zakir was named acting defense minister, Al Jazeera reported, citing a Taliban source.
Asharq Al-Awsat says a Taliban official in Kabul confirmed the key ministerial appointments made this week, after the militant group wrested control of all government offices, the presidential palace and parliament.
The official, who has been attached to the group as a senior political strategist, reportedly added that provincial governors would be selected from among some of the most experienced commanders from the 20-year war just ended.
A Taliban commander also confirmed the key ministerial choices, but stressed they had not yet been made official, according to Asharq Al-Awsat.
Asharq Al-Awsat says that according to some experts, others named to government positions appeared to be mostly military Taliban leaders from the southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar.
