News Analysis | Taliban’s message to the world — We haven’t changed

Formation of interim government makes it clear that the old guard reigns supreme and that they care little about what the world thinks about their conduct of governance.

After capturing Kabul on August 15, Taliban leaders had repeatedly said they would establish an “inclusive government” representing all sections of Afghan society. There were also discussions on whether the Taliban 2.0 would be different from the last time they were in power. But with the on Wednesday, four days prior to the 20th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S., the Taliban have made it clear that the old guard who ran Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 still reigns supreme in the group and that they care little about what the world thinks about their conduct of governance. Almost all the senior positions of the interim government have been allocated to top Taliban leaders who were associated with the old regime. , who was the Foreign Minister of the previous Islamic Emirate, will head the government. Mullah Akhund, who is on a U.N. blacklist, is one of the Taliban’s founders. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, another co-founder who was heading the Taliban’s Doha-based negotiations with the U.S. and other countries, will be his deputy.