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Graphic shows key figures in the new Taliban government.
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سياسة

الشخصيات الرئيسية في حكومة طالبان الجديدة

By Jordi Bou

September 8, 2021 - The Taliban’s all-male interim government for Afghanistan is stacked with veterans of their hard-line rule from the 1990s and the 20-year battle against the U.S.-led coalition, a move that seems unlikely to win the international support the new leaders desperately need.

Appointed to the key post of interior minister was Sirajuddin Haqqani, who is on the FBI’s most-wanted list with a $5 million bounty on his head and is believed to still be holding at least one American hostage. He headed the feared Haqqani network that is blamed for many deadly attacks and kidnappings.

Drawn mostly from Afghanistan’s dominant Pashtun ethnic group, the Cabinet's lack of representation from other ethnic groups also seems certain to hobble its support from abroad.

As much as 80% of Afghanistan's budget comes from the international community, and a long-running economic crisis has worsened in recent months. Near daily flights from Qatar bring in humanitarian aid, but the needs are massive, and the Taliban can hardly afford isolation.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 08/09/2021; STORY: Graphic News; PICTURES: Newscom, AP, Getty Images, FBI, U.S. Department of Defense
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