Taliban will today unveil Afghanistan’s new government with presidential palace ceremony.
Afghanistan’s new Taliban rulers are set to unveil their new government today as the country’s economy teeters on the verge of collapse amid food shortage warnings.
The impending announcement comes more than two weeks after the Islamist militia captured Kabul and brought a chaotic and deadly end to 20 years of war, with the Taliban now back in control of the country as they were from 1996 to 2001.
Taliban official Ahmadullah Muttaqi said on social media a ceremony was being prepared at the presidential palace in Kabul after the US withdrawal, while private broadcaster TOLONews said an announcement on a new government was imminent.
Meanwhile, one-third of the country is facing food insecurity and is in desperate need of funds, according to the World Food Programme amid warnings of a humanitarian crisis in the country.
The legitimacy of the new government in the eyes of international donors and investors will be crucial for the economy as the country battles drought and the ravages of a conflict that took the lives of an estimated 240,000 Afghans.
But the Taliban are unlikely to get quick access to around $10 billion of assets held abroad by the Afghan central bank, and are struggling to reassure banks that the economy under the group will be fully functional.
It is expected that the Taliban’s supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, will have ultimate power over a new governing council, with a president below him, a senior Taliban official told Reuters news agency last month.
