(New York, N.Y.) – When Taliban forces seized control of Afghanistan in August, leaders of the extremist group pledged to establish a new reformed Taliban government. The current government, unlike the one in the 1990s, claimed that it would honor women’s rights within the norms of Islamic law and would not allow Afghanistan to become a haven for terrorists. However, the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) has determined that a significant number of the new Taliban regime are sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council for their heinous actions, further leading to speculation whether the Taliban will truly follow through with a more “moderate” approach to governance.

CEP’s new resource, Members of the Taliban’s Interim Government, provides in-depth profiles on 33 appointments, outlining each person’s position, their rise to power within the Taliban network, and sanction status. 

Those highlighted in the resource include Supreme Leader Mawlawi Haibatullah Akhundzada, Prime Minister Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, Co-Deputy Prime Ministers Abdul Ghani Baradar Abdul Ahmad Turk and Abdul Salam Hanafi Ali Mardan Qul, Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani Jalaluddin Khwasa, and Foreign Minister Amir Khan Motaqi.

The ruling Taliban regime is exclusively male, with many positions filled with veterans from their hardline movement in the early nineties. Additionally, many appointees held similar, if not the exact same, roles during the Taliban’s first reign.

To read CEP’s resource Members of the Taliban’s Interim Government, please click here.