The Chosen Ones of Taliban

The Taliban have chosen who will form their new government in Afghanistan, according to Reuters sources inside the group. And these are the officials they’ve picked, starting with the man who would lead that government: Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar

Abdul Ghani Baradar is one of the co-founders of the Taliban and was a close friend of the Taliban’s first leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar. It was Omar that gave him the nom de guerre of Baradar, which means “brother.” He was deputy defense minister during the first Taliban government, and then when the American invasion caused its collapse he became a senior military commander. He was responsible for attacks on coalition forces, according to the U.N., and served eight years in prison in Pakistan. Later he became one of the group’s most prominent political leaders, in the peace talks with the United States.

Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai

Baradar will be joined by Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, who was his deputy. Stanikzai has been one of the group’s most public faces. He was once a deputy foreign minister for the group. He’s a fluent English speaker, graduated as a military cadet in India in the 1980s, and fought in the Afghan-Soviet war. One of his former classmates in India told Reuters that he was an average cadet. Another said he didn’t show signs of Islamist radicalization at the time.

Haibatullah Akhundzada

The Taliban’s supreme religious leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, will continue to focus on religious matters and governance within the Taliban’s interpretation of Islam. Akhundzada was a legal scholar with a low profile until his predecessor was killed in a U.S. drone strike five years ago. After he took over, he tried to unify the movement’s several factions and stop defections to groups like Islamic State. One of his sons died as a suicide bomber attacking an Afghan military base. The United Nations says that Akhundzada also served in the first Taliban government in the 90s, as the head of its hardline justice system.

The Taliban have previously said that they want to form a consensus government, but a Reuters source close to the militants says that the interim government will consist solely of Taliban members, for now. Within six to eight months they plan to also form a representative assembly, and also discuss a constitution.

Western powers and others have said that formal recognition of a Taliban government will depend on its actions. Russia considers the Taliban to be a terrorist group.