Why The Taliban Government Is Still Not In Place

Taliban Takeover: Last week Taliban and other Afghan leaders said Haibatullah Akhundzada would be the top leader and Mullah Baradar, his deputy, in charge of daily operations.

Rifts within the Taliban are delaying the unveiling of a new Afghanistan government, sources told NDTV on Monday, blaming increasing discord between the Islamist group's Doha and Haqqani factions and the latter's reported refusal to accept Haibatullah Akhundzada as a 'supreme leader'. Sources said the factions seemed divided over including political leaders from earlier governments - such as former President Hamid Karzai and two-time presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah. Taliban military commanders are said to be averse to their inclusion, while the extremist group's Doha wing is reportedly in favour. The possible stand-off comes amid reports of a 'heated clash' between the Haqqanis (one of the world's more feared terrorist groups) and Mullah Baradar, one of Akhundzada's three deputies and the man widely expected to be in charge of the daily functioning of any new government.