The Taliban has included the leader of a U.S.-designated terrorist organization in a new government announced on Tuesday.Mullah Mohammad Hassan, the little-known head of the Taliban's leadership council, was named as acting prime minister, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed said at a press conference in Kabul on Tuesday, as per a report by Bloomberg.Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the main public face of the group who signed a peace deal with the Trump administration last year, will serve as his deputy.
Sirajuddin Haqqani, leader of the Haqqani Network who is on the FBI's most wanted list for terrorism, will serve as acting interior minister, the report said.The Taliban want good relations with all countries in the world, including the U.S., Mujahed told reporters. He called the cabinet a "diverse group" that included a variety of ethnicities and backgrounds, although no women were chosen.
"We're not a tribal force," Mujahed said, adding that the group wanted good relations with the U.S. despite the war. "We hope all countries in the world will recognize the legitimacy of our government and our Islamic regime."Mujahed made no mention of Taliban Supreme Commander Haibatullah Akhundzada, who hasn't been seen in public since becoming the group's leader in 2016, the report said.
Mohammad Yaqoob, the son of former supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar -- who refused to give up Osama bin Laden to the U.S. before the 2001 invasion -- became acting defense minister.
Other key cabinet members included:
· Abdul Salam Hanafi, second deputy prime minister
· Amir Khan Muttaqi as acting foreign minister
· Hedayatullah Badri as acting finance minister
· Din Mohammad as acting economy minister
· Mohammad Edris as acting governor of the central bank