Afghanistan dispatches: ‘it will take a long time for the Taliban to legalize the new government structure’ Dispatches
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Afghanistan dispatches: ‘it will take a long time for the Taliban to legalize the new government structure’

JURIST EXCLUSIVE – Law students and lawyers in Afghanistan are filing reports with JURIST on the situation there after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban. Here, a lawyer in Kabul offers his observations and perspective on the Taliban’s new cabinet, announced September 7. For privacy and security reasons we are withholding his name and institutional affiliation. The text has been only lightly edited to respect the author’s voice.

The Taliban introduced their cabinet Tuesday in a press conference. The Taliban’s new administration is led by a religious leader, followed by head of the cabinet, two deputies and  ministers accordingly. Yet they have not been able to find anyone for the Supreme Court or the Attorney General Office. They also have eliminated the Ministry of Women’s Affairs.

The inclusivity of this government was always a question between other tribes and the international community. So far, it seems that they have not included any other tribe [except Pashtuns]. There is only one Tajik and one Uzbek who are Talibs.

To legalize the new structure detailed below, they need to bring amendments into the Constitution of the country. Any change to the Constitution requires local consultations which is know as Loya Jirga in Afghanistan. As a general practice, the Loya Jirga shall be conducted in all 34 provinces. Therefore, it will take a long time for the Taliban to legalize the new government structure. Until then, I believe they will have time to replace the named individuals with people who are actually aware of their concerned field.

In my view, their administration will have to combat the following challenges:

1. Significant decrease in investment level due to the insecurity and uncertainty.
2. Flight of human capital.
3. Internal displaced people (food, security, housing, and etc.)
4. Access to Afghanistan’s foreign investment – this will be harder for them because they are on sanction lists everywhere.
5. Establishment of a practical financial and monetary policy – again will be difficult for them.
6. Resume infrastructure projects such as TAPI CASA 1000 and many others.
7. Convince the WB, ADB, KFW, USAID and others to complete their ongoing projects.

I do not think that they will succeed soon due to the administration’s capacity – but in long term we are hopeful.

Taliban’s New Government Structure
PersonPositionQualification[s] and facts
Haibatullah AkhundzadaReligious leaderFormer Chief of Justice, Leader since 2016 and major decision maker for the Taliban | No official evidence of higher education
Mula Hassan AkhundHead of Cabinet (Ministers Head)Member of the Leadership | No official evidence of higher education
Abdul Ghani BaradarFirst Deputy Head of CabinetDirector of Political Affairs in Qatar| No official evidence of higher education
Abdul Salam HanafiSecond Deputy Head of CabinetQatar Negotiation Member| No official evidence of higher education
Amir Khan MutaqiMinister of Foreign AffairsNo official evidence of higher education
Sarajuddin HaqqaniMinister of Interior AffairsFBI number one wanted with 5M USD prize. Head of the Haqqani the number one terrorist group.  No official evidence of higher education
Mohammad YaqubMinister of DefenseSon of Mullah Omar | No official evidence of evidence education
Hedayatullah BadryMinister of FinanceNo official evidence of higher education
Din Mohammad HanifMinister of EconomyNo official evidence of higher education
Mohammad IssaMinister Mines and PetroleumNo official evidence of higher education
Hamidullah AkhundzadaMinister of TransportNo official evidence of higher education
Abdul Baqi HaqqaniMinister of Higher EducationNo official evidence of higher education
Najibullah HaqqaniMinister TelecommunicationNo official evidence of higher education
Abdul Latif MansorEnergy and WaterNo official evidence of higher education
Mula EdreesGovernor of Central BankFormer Taliban’s finance head| No official evidence of higher education
Abdul Hakim SharayeMinister of JusticeNo official evidence of higher education

 

 

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