New Delhi

Three weeks after taking over Kabul, the Taliban have named Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund as the new head of state and the government.

Addressing the media in Kabul, Zabiullah Mujahid, spokesperson of the Taliban said Mullah Baradar Akhund and Mullah Abdus Salam are the two deputy heads of the State. Earlier Baradar was a strong contender for the top position in the government.

Interestingly, the Taliban have named Sirajuddin Haqqani, head of the Haqqani Network, that is proscribed under the US and Pakistani law. Haqqani network was involved in several attacks on the Indian embassy and consulates in Afghanistan,

Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund is presently head of the Taliban’s powerful decision-making body, Rehbari Shura or leadership council. He hails from Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban, and was among its founders.

Mullah Hasan was close to Sheikh Hibatullah Akhunzada, a mysterious leader of the group who emerged from years of living underground after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.

Mullah Hasan had worked on important positions and served as foreign minister and the deputy prime minister during the earlier rule of the Taliban.

According to a report, Mullah Hassan was the man behind demolition of the Bamyan Buddha in Kandahar and was a designated terrorist for this act.

Haqqani is authorised to nominate governors for the eastern provinces, from where the Haqqani Network used to draw its force. They are Paktia, Paktika, Khost, Gardez, Nangarhar and Kunar, and will have a major say in issue of governance.

Similarly, Mullah Yaqoob, son of Taliban founder Mullah Mohammad Omar, is nominated as Afghanistan’s defence minister.

Yaqoob was the commander in chief of the group and he led the August 15 March to the Kabul and other victories in the provinces.

According to Pakistani media, Zabihullah Mujahid would be the spokesman for the head of the state, Mullah Hasan Akhund.

Sources told the Pakistani media that Mullah Ameer Khan Muttaqi will be the new foreign minister of Afghanistan.