KABUL – The interim “caretaker” government revealed by the Taliban in Kabul is not what the group led the world to believe when they took over, according to Dr. Yvonne Ridley.
Dr. Ridley, a renowned British journalist who was captured by the Taliban and later converted to Islam, explained that the caretaker government in Afghanistan lacks inclusivity – something which the Taliban promised just last month.
“The ranks are filled with Taliban; all men, no women. [There is] no ethnic minority representation. [The interim government is] not at all what the world was led to believe when that extraordinary press conference was made in Kabul,” she said.
She added that “the only source of comfort” is that the government is an interim government; she hopes that a new one with inclusivity will be installed.
Caretaker ministers
The caretaker head of cabinet is Mullah Hasan Akhund, a founding member of the Taliban who’s on the UN’s sanctions list. Other caretaker ministers include Sirajuddin Haqqani and Mullah Yaqoob.
Haqqani, now the caretaker Minister of Interior, is sought by the FBI with a $5m (R71 020 500,00) bounty on his head. The Haqqani Network – named after his family – is blamed for some of the worst attacks on Afghan civilians. The family insists that this network doesn’t exist.
“The fact that a senior member of this family has this key post of Interior Minister is bound to set alarm bells ringing in Washington,” she said.
“We haven’t announced all the ministries and deputies yet so it’s possible this list could be extended,” said Ahmadullah Wasiq, deputy head of the cultural commission.
Will make a point of putting out the dog and cat during my next interview!! Apologies to @salaamedia for the disruption but at one point there was a full scale ruckus going on between Bertie & Sheba! https://t.co/gmM3mGqhH7
— Yvonne Ridley – #indyref2 (@yvonneridley) September 8, 2021
Julie Alli spoke to Dr. Yvonne Ridley on News & Views about the Taliban’s caretaker government. Watch the full discussion here:
https://youtu.be/pL2ciuFJC38
