Yesterday, the Taliban announced the creation of an interim government in Afghanistan, consisting exclusively of men and veterans of their brutal government in the 1990s. This is a step that is unlikely to win the international support that new leaders so desperately need to avoid economic collapse.
The announcement of the new government came hours after the Taliban opened fire to disperse protesters in the capital, Kabul, and arrested several journalists. This was the second time in less than a week that they used brute force to disperse the demonstration.
The lack of ethnic representation in the cabinet, whose members are mainly members of Afghanistan’s dominant Pashtun ethnic group, also appears to hamper its support from abroad.
Up to 80 percent of Afghanistan’s budget comes from the international community, and the economic crisis, which has been going on for some time, has intensified in recent months. Almost daily flights from Qatar deliver humanitarian aid, but the need for it is enormous, and the Taliban can hardly afford isolation.
In a statement by the Cabinet of Ministers, Taliban spokesman Zabiula Mujahid stressed that the appointments were temporary. He did not say how long the ministers would serve and what the incentives for change would be.