In this file photo taken on July 18, 2021 the leader of the Taliban negotiating team Mullah Baradar looks on the final declaration of the peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban presented in Qatar's capital Doha. (KARIM JAAFAR / AFP)
Taliban co-founder Mullah Baradar will lead a new Afghan government set to be announced shortly, sources in the Islamist group said on Friday, as its fighters battled forces loyal to the vanquished republic in the Panjshir Valley north of Kabul.
The new government's most immediate priority would be to avert the collapse of an economy grappling with drought and the ravages of a 20-year conflict that killed around 240,000 Afghans before US forces completed a tumultuous pullout on Aug 30.
All the top leaders have arrived in Kabul, where preparations are in final stages to announce the new government.
Taliban official
Baradar, who heads the Taliban's political office, will be joined by Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, the son of late Taliban co-founder Mullah Omar, and Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, in senior positions in the government, three sources said.
"All the top leaders have arrived in Kabul, where preparations are in final stages to announce the new government," one Taliban official told Reuters, on condition of anonymity.
Haibatullah
Akhunzada, the Taliban's supreme religious leader, will focus on
religious matters and governance within the framework of Islam, another
Taliban source said.
The
Taliban, which seized Kabul on Aug 15 after sweeping across most of
the country, have faced resistance in the Panjshir Valley, where there
have been reports of heavy fighting and casualties.
Several thousand fighters of regional militias and remnants of the government's armed forces have massed in the rugged valley under the leadership of Ahmad Massoud, the son of former Mujahideen commander Ahmad Shah Massoud.
Efforts to negotiate a settlement appear to have broken down, with each side blaming the other for the failure.
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While
the Taliban have spoken of their desire to form a consensus government,
a source close to the militant movement said the interim government now
being formed would consist solely of Taliban members.
Afghans, hoping to leave Afghanistan, walk to the main entrance gate of Kabul airport in Kabul on Aug 28, 2021. (WAKIL KOHSAR / AFP)
It would comprise 25 ministries, with a consultative council, or shura, of 12 Muslim scholars, the source added.
Also
being planned within six to eight months is a loya jirga, or grand
assembly, bringing together elders and representatives across Afghan
society to discuss a constitution and the structure of the future
government, the source said.
All
the sources expected the interim government's cabinet to be finalized
soon but differed over exactly when, with some saying it would be
settled later on Friday while others felt it would take until the middle
of next week.
Humanitarian catastrophe
Humanitarian groups have warned of impending
catastrophe in Afghanistan and the economy, reliant for years on millions of dollars of
foreign aid, is near collapse.
Kabul airport, the key to any aid lifeline, has been closed due to a lack of air traffic control. The Taliban are still talking to foreign countries about technical assistance needed to reopen it.
Well
before the Taliban took power, many Afghans were struggling to feed
their families amid severe drought and millions could now face
starvation, aid agencies say.
READ MORE: Taliban take over 3 gates of Kabul's airport
The
administration of US President Joe Biden has no plans to release
billions in Afghan gold, investments and foreign currency reserves
parked in the United States that it froze after the Taliban's takeover.
In a positive development, a senior executive of Western Union Co said the remittance firm was resuming money-transfer services to Afghanistan in line with a US push to keep up humanitarian work.