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Taliban to form a 12-member council to run Afghanistan: Sources
Sources close to the Taliban leadership told the American publication Foreign Policy that the group will form a 12-member council to run the country.
According to the report, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s political deputy; Mullah Mohammad Yaqub, the son of Mullah Mohammad Omar; and Khalil-ur-Rahman Haqqani, a senior member of Haqqani network will be included in the council.
“Our elders are busy. Consultations about a political system are underway. When we conclude our consultations, we will be witness to the system,” said Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman.
Hamid Karzai, Abdullah Abdullah and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar will also be members of this council, reports indicated.
“Mullah Barada can work with other partners to form a truly inclusive government,” said Sayed Hafizullah Naqi, a member of the leadership of Hezb -i- Islami.
According to the report, the Taliban are ready to give some members of the previous government some ministries as they want to form an inclusive government.
The Taliban, meanwhile, have said they will not form a government while the United States has a military presence in Afghanistan.
The Council of Shiite Ulema also reiterated the need for an inclusive government to be formed by the Taliban.
“Creating an Islamic system acceptable to all and forming an inclusive government is our desire,” said an Ulema member Sayed Hussain Alami Balkhi.
Afghanistan has been in a political and legal vacuum for ten days, with sources saying the Taliban will not announce the formation of a government until the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan is complete.
“A broad-based, comprehensive and inclusive Islamic system should be formed with the participation of all ethnic groups, brothers of Afghanistan,” said Mohammad Akbari, a member of the Shiite Council of Afghanistan.
In such a situation, one of the obstacles to forming an inclusive government with the Taliban is Ahmad Massoud’s opposition to the Taliban in Panjshir. Although political talks are ongoing to resolve the stalemate between the two sides, both sides have warned each other of the possibility of using the military option.
In a statement on the occasion of the 32nd anniversary of the victory of the Mujahideen against the then communist government, the Islamic Emirate said that it is a day of freedom of the Afghan nation.
The Islamic Emirate described the coup by People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan on 27th April 1978 as a dark day in history, as a result of which the people of Afghanistan suffered severe human and financial losses.
The statement said that the Afghan nation suffered huge casualties in their 14-year struggle against the thoughts and actions of the communists, as 1.5 million people died and millions more faced various hardships.
“After 20 years of Jihad, our country was freed from another occupation and the Islamic system was established, so the Islamic Emirate will make its utmost efforts so that the fruits of decades of sacrifice and struggle of this nation are not wasted,” the statement said.
“It was the wish of the martyrs to fully implement the Islamic system in the country, and therefore, the Islamic Emirate is trying to facilitate development and prosperity under the shadow of the Islamic system in order to realize the goals of the Afghan people’s jihads,” it added.
Pakistan’s government on Friday extended the stay of Afghan refugees in the country till June 30, amid repatriation of illegal foreign nationals.
There are around 1.3 million registered Afghans living in Pakistan, according to a spokesman for UN refugee agency UNHCR in Islamabad, Dawn newspaper reported.
“On the recommendation of the Ministry of States and Frontier Regions, the federal cabinet approved the extension of the validity of PoR cards of Afghan refugees from April 1, 2024, to June 30, 2024,” said an official statement, issued by the Prime Minister’s Office.
The PoR cardholders will be repatriated in the third phase of the plan that will begin after the repatriation of “illegal foreign nationals” residing in Pakistan is completed, the statement added.
The PoR card holders avail schools, bank accounts and other facilities in Pakistan.
Repatriation of undocumented refugees began on November 1 and continues. More than 500,000 Afghans have been expelled so far.
John Bass, US acting under secretary of state for political affairs, will travel to Qatar and Pakistan April 26-30, US State Department announced on Friday.
In Doha, Qatar, he will meet with senior Qatari government officials and other diplomatic missions to discuss support for Afghanistan and shared security interests in the region, US State Department said in a statement.
In Islamabad, Pakistan, Under Secretary Bass will meet with senior Pakistani government officials to discuss a range of regional and bilateral issues as part of the U.S.-Pakistani partnership, the statement added.
John Bass served as US ambassador to Afghanistan under Donald Trump administration between December 2017 and January 2020.
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